Lockheed Martin and SSTL selected for Mars Ones first unmanned mission to Mars.

[Karriz]

I know that peope are skeptical about mars One, and that's perfectly understandable, considering that there are still some big holes in their plans.

However, it seems like today we'll hear something new, they have an announcement coming up regarding their first unmanned mission that's supposed to launch in 2016.

According to their roadmap, this would mean a communications satellite at Mars orbit. Anyways, if they have an actual contract with Lockheed Martin and SSTL, that would certainly give them some credibility.

The livestream will be there at 10:30am EST: http://www.mars-one.com/en/11-news/516-countdown

Well, the way I see it that now they could manage to convince people about the seriousness of their plan, if the hardware is already being designed. If it's just some concept art, they're not getting anywhere.

[CalculusWarrior]

Mars One is definitely a long shot; but the fact that they're actually contracting companies is a very good sign! I hope their plan succeeds!

[Deathsoul097]

Mmh. I don't know about mars one. I mean, funding a mars colony (Which will be a one way trip) on a reality show based around said colony, with the fact that they are advertising for just normal people over the internet to become the colonists? I mean sure, if it was funded by NASA, and they were just sending some outposts, and creating a lander and launchers tailored to the mission, and sending real astronauts and scientists then it would seem fine. But what mars one is proposing? A one-way trip to a hell-hole of a planet with constant dust storms, raging winds, a tenuous at best (not to mention toxic as hell) atmosphere, where you are going to live out the rest of your life in an inflatable tube, constantly depending on support from earth to develop to the point of sustainability, which would surely take many years, and no chance of returning or ever talking to a family member in real time, face to face, again? Mars One is going to fall flat on its face faster than a legless donkey doing the high jump.

[Monkeh]

Closest thing I could find in google images to that awesome sounding donkey.

Please someone make a nice picture of a legless donkey doing the high jump. Thank you in advance.

[Deathsoul097]

Lawlz. Please somebody do this!

[jwenting]

now to get the $100M+ together to actually build and launch the thing, and then the millions a year to run it...

Ain't gonna happen, seeing as they only got a few tens of thousands so far, and that's all gone to paying for the PR trips.

[Kryten]

We've no idea how much outside investment they have, only guesses; they might have been able to attract a major investor, someone eager for the kind of publicity funding something like this might bring. There are rumours that exactly that has happened, some of them explicitly naming Carlos Slim, but they're unconfirmed. That's likely to stay true for now unless this announcement involves some real contracts or showing off of test hardware.

[peadar1987]

Just because you or I wouldn't do it doesn't mean there's any shortage of volunteers. Getting astronauts to go to Mars on a one-way trip is the least of their problems. Keeping them alive once they're there is probably the biggest. Who's going to supply the colonists if the company goes bust?

[Dominatus]

Yeah, MARS1 will almost certainly fail. Practicality and budget aside, there are many, many psychological problems that haven't been addressed. No psychologist is going to be sent so far, and there is no privacy because of the reality show... This, in combination with numerous other psychological issues, means that even if they get there bad things will follow.. I'm actually working on a project I intend on presenting to SpaceX when it's finished that should address some of these for the Red Dragon mission. But that's top-secret. Gotta protect my intellectual property.

[Karriz]

Okay, so they just launched an Indiegogo campaign for a 2018 lander+satellite mission.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mars-one-first-private-mars-mission-in-2018

Even if their manned objectives have a too tight schelude, do you think this is plausible?

[Dispatcher]

Please someone make a nice picture of a legless donkey doing the high jump. Thank you in advance.

Do you own the image rights or doing a parody of the image?

[Karriz]

Also, the 2023 manned landing has been delayed to 2025 in their updated plans, which I think is a good thing. Seems like they got a little more realistic, but we'll see. The livestream begins in a few minutes.

[Axder]

Well they got me interested. I belive that their next misson is achiveble with curent tech and launch vehicles. And I admit that i started considering giving them money for support. I admit that i kinda hope that my 10 bucks could actualy lead to the first mars colony, even if that colony fail.

Also here is the link for the foundreiser. I am quite astonished how much money they raised, just in one day.

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mars-one-first-private-mars-mission-in-2018

EDIT: Added link

Edited December 11, 2013 by Axder