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                  Over 200,000 Apply to Live (and Die) on Mars

   by VOA News

   Over 200,000 people from around the world have applied to be the first
   human settlers on Mars [1]according to Mars One, a not-for-profit
   foundation that says it will establish a permanent human settlement on
   the red planet in 2023.
   The foundation, which began receiving applications in April, said it
   received applications from 202,586 people from around the world. Nearly
   a quarter of the applicants are from the United States, 10 percent from
   India and six percent from China.
   Over the coming months, the applicants will be pared down and those
   selected will be notified by the end of the year.
   Selected candidates will undergo intense physical and mental testing,
   as teams from different regions of the world will compete against each
   other until 24-40 make the final cut by 2015.
   These future Martians will then begin seven years of training. Those
   who do go to Mars will spend the rest of their lives there.
   Mars One says the initial mission will cost $6 billion, sourced from
   the private sector and a television reality show.
   According to the Mars One website, "human settlement on Mars is
   possible today with existing technologies."
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   [2]http://www.voanews.com/content/over-200000-apply-to-live-on-mars/174
   6908.html

References

   1. http://www.mars-one.com/en/mars-one-news/press-releases/11-news/500-over-200-000-apply-to-first-ever-recruitment-for-mars-settlement
   2. http://www.voanews.com/content/over-200000-apply-to-live-on-mars/1746908.html