Moss Beach man among 100 candidates selected for Mars colonization training

Peter Felgentreff

Several Bay Area residents and natives are among 100 people selected worldwide to begin training for a planned mission to colonize Mars in 2024.

The 100 candidates were selected from a pool of more than 200,000 applicants around the world. The 50 men and 50 women selected will now begin a selection round including group training exercises and interviews.

Eventually the Mars One foundation, a nonprofit established to set up a human colony on Mars, plans to set up outposts on Earth in areas like the desert or the Arctic for small groups to inhabit as part of their training.

The training would include scenarios like what they would do if the air supply unit stopped functioning correctly, or if they were running out of water.

Portions of the training process could be televised and organizers hope selling the broadcast rights will help to fund the mission.

One of the several Bay Area residents selected is Peter Felgentreff, 50, a technology worker who lives near Moss Beach in San Mateo County.

Im thrilled about it, Felgentreff said Tuesday.

He learned he was selected to be one of the 100 applicants this week and said he is ready to begin the extensive training necessary before he could potentially take the trip to Mars in less than a decade.

The pool of applicants includes people from a wide range of backgrounds teachers, artists, engineers but little Earth-bound experience could prepare someone to be the first person to move to another planet.

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Moss Beach man among 100 candidates selected for Mars colonization training