There is a slight catch though; you can’t come back…ever. You get to strap into a rocket and NASA will shoot you all the way to Mars where you’ll get to do all kinds of research and fun stuff and…let’s see, am I forgetting anything…oh yeah, then you have to die there. Will that be a problem for you?
Yes this one way ticket to Mars may become an awesome, yet grim, reality for one lucky/unfortunate space geek in the future. A NASA engineer by the name of Jim McClane (and no, that’s not the guy from Die Hard) has concocted a mission which he is calling “Spirit of the Lone Eagle” It's a rather insane plan that actually makes some sort of sense. Here’s how McClane justifies his one-way trip to the Red Planet:
“When we eliminate the need to launch off Mars, we remove the mission’s most daunting obstacle,” said McLane. And because of a small crew size, the spacecraft could be smaller and the need for consumables and supplies would be decreased, making the mission cheaper and less complicated.
While some might classify this as a suicide mission, McLane feels the concept is completely logical
“There would be tremendous risk, yes,” said McLane, “but I don’t think that’s guaranteed any more than you would say climbing a mountain alone is a suicide mission. People do dangerous things all the time, and this would be something really unique, to go to Mars. I don’t think there would be any shortage of people willing to volunteer for the mission. Lindbergh was someone who was willing to risk everything because it was worth it. I don’t think it will be hard to find another Lindbergh to go to Mars. That will be the easiest part of this whole program.”
As crazy as it sounds, he’s right that there would be no shortage of NASA professionals and Star Trek nerds lining up for this “once in a lifetime/end of your lifetime” space odyssey. I wouldn’t necessarily sign up for this but it would be super interesting if this were actually introduced and carried out. Watch for the upcoming series on CBS; Survivor: Escape from Mars.
[Gizmodo via Universe Today via Danger Room]
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