Under the microscope
The response from the people behind the project has gone some way to easing people's doubts, though worries about its feasibility remain.
"There has not been enough information or publicity of how its technology has been developed to meet the needs of a hard-lift rocket launch, landing and living on Mars," a space enthusiast in Beijing who gave his surname as Wang, told the Global Times.
It is not the first time the Mars One Project has been doubted by the public. Critics said the project was more like a showbiz production rather than a scientific exploration.
According to its website, the company will hold a reality TV show for the entire process of selecting, training, landing and living experience of the astronauts to raise the $6 billion needed for the project.
The company has also been trying different methods to raise the money, including selling merchandise such as T-shirts, coffee mugs, and posters on their official website.
It is also accepting donations worldwide, which came to more than $100,000 as of press time, according to statistics from its official website.
Early in January this year, Bas told Xinhua that the project might be delayed, as they had been facing difficulties in both the technology and financing.
The company said they would use Falcon Heavy, a product from Space X to launch the rocket. However, space experts said the rocket was capable of launching spaceships to near-Earth orbit, but cannot reach Mars, which is about 40 to 400 million kilometers away from the earth, depending on where the planet is on its orbit around the Sun.
At the same time, there are a lot of poisonous materials and high-radiation substances that exist on the surface of Mars, which makes it impossible for humans to live on the planet.
"In the long run, it is feasible to take a trip to Mars. But currently, there are a lot of problems we have to overcome," said Pang Zhihao, an aerospace expert from the China Academy of Space Technology.
"First, you should solve the problem of the heavy-lift launch vehicle. Existing hard-lift rockets cannot reach Mars. Second, you should provide a breathable environment to allow people to live on Mars," Pang said.
The former Soviet Union failed to send astronauts to the moon due to its failure to launch a heavy-lift rocket, Pang added.
In response to doubts about technology, Bas said the Mars One Project will not provide the technology itself. Instead, its suppliers including Space X, Paragon and other companies would secure the necessary technology.
Phone calls to the suppliers remained unanswered as of press time.
To build a colony on Mars, the company said it would carry out a test launch in 2016, dispatch scientists to carry out research on Mars in 2018, send robots to build infrastructure in 2021, and send four people to the planet in 2023.
Similar programs aiming to realize mankind's ambition of building colonies on the Red Planet, both grass-roots and governmental, have also been questioned by the public.
In late 2012, Elon Musk, founder and CEO of the private spaceflight company Space X, announced a huge resettlement plan involving the emigration of 80,000 people to Mars, saying it would cost about $500,000 a trip.
The privately-run Mars Foundation is working to send a pair of non-NASA astronauts, preferably a married couple, to make a trip to Mars in January 2018. The project has to make sure to provide life-support systems and other technology for the 501-day mission.
NASA is currently developing a heavy-lift rocket to send astronauts to Mars in the 2030s.
10 million-yuan bra shines in Shengyang, North China
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