Mars One comes under increasing criticism, accused of …

Mars One, the project being conducted by a Dutch nonprofit that purports to have as a goal the establishment of a Mars colony, is coming under increasing criticism. A Monday article in Space Review suggests that the people running Mars One have not thought through the challenges of Mars colonization and lack the resources, technology, and knowledge to accomplish such a fear. Medium, having interviewed a Mars One finalist who happens to be a former NASA researcher, goes a step further and accuses the project of being an elaborate scam designed to separate people from their money.

Much of the technical criticism of the Mars One project has already been covered by the now famous MIT study. The technology that the project claims is available would be inadequate to get people to Mars, not to mention sustaining them over the long run. If Mars One proposes to develop new technology, questions arise about reliability and costs. Those running the project seem overly optimistic about the latter factor.

The Space Review also suggests that the psychological stress of being the subject of a reality show the main vehicle that Mars One proposes to make money on the project would be unbearable when added to the dangers of settling a hostile planet. The project also does not seem to have developed adequate provisions for the health and well being of the colonists. What happens if, as likely, the Mars One settlers start dying?

Some political and diplomatic impediments may stand in the way of a Mars Colony, at least as Mars One proposes. The Netherlands, where Mars One is incorporated, is a party to the infamous Moon Treaty, which most countries on the planet have rejected as an impediment to space settlement and development. However, the country is still a party to it and is bound by it. However, fears that the idea of a colony may be anathema to the world community because the sad history of western imperialism is likely overblown. No native Martians exist for human colonist to oppress and exploit.

A Mars One finalist named Dr. Joseph Roche, an assistant professor at Trinity Colleges School of Education in Dublin, with a Ph.D. in physics and astrophysics, has started to raise questions about the project as well. He applied on a lark and was surprised when he was picked as a finalist. The reason is that Mars One in no way approaches NASAs rigorous criteria for selecting astronauts, who for now only venture into low Earth orbit and not the 100 million mile journey to Mars.

Furthermore, Roche has noted that the Mars One finalists are being exploited by the project to generate revenue, even going so far as to be encouraged to donate a large percentage of the profits for paid media interviews. Indeed, he suspects that some of the finalists are on the list not for the skills they may bring to establishing a Mars colony, but rather because they bought their way onto it.

The obvious conclusion one might draw is that it is fortunate that Mars One is not likely to get off the ground. Every analysis suggests that it would fail spectacularly, in full view of the world. This might, in turn, poison the well for more legitimate Mars efforts, even the one that NASA is contemplating, which have funding problems of their own. Indeed, Mars One, if Roche is correct, can be condemned for exploiting the greatest of all dreams of forging a brighter future among the stars for profit without any hope of delivering on said dream.

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Mars One comes under increasing criticism, accused of ...