Ben Criger, a recent graduate from the University of Waterloo, is one of six Canadians who could be picked to take part in a mission that will attempt to establish the first human colony on Mars in 2024.
Criger is one of 100 candidates proceeding to the next round of the Mars One Mission. Mars One, a non-profit foundation based in the Netherlands, received more than 200,000 applications from people all over the world.
“It will give humanity an opportunity to reflect on how people can work together across cultures without pre-existing systems of governance,” said Criger, who has a PhD in quantum computing from Waterloo and now works in Germany.
Mars One plans to create the first human settlement on Mars by 2025. The search for prospective astronauts began in 2011 and although hundreds of thousands have applied, only four will be selected.
“The large cut in candidates is an important step towards finding out who has the right stuff to go to Mars,” said Bas Lansdorp, CEO and co-founder of Mars One in a press release. “These aspiring Martians provide the world with a glimpse into who the modern day explorers will be.”
Criger said it’s a drive to explore and his educational background in science that makes him a good candidate. Although he said his family and friends are supportive, they “don’t like the thought of not seeing me again if I go.”
Although Criger said he sees the Mars One Mission as an opportunity for human development, he acknowledges its criticisms.
Last year, a study by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers suggested the Mars One Mission faces serious technical and financial issues. It said if participants do make it to Mars, they can only survive for 68 days.
“When you send humans further out into space, their lives are depending on technologies to function reliably for many months or years in an isolated environment. If something fails, you can’t just call home and have someone send you a spare part,” said Sydney Do, PhD candidate at MIT and a head researcher in the study.
Even if the required technologies were available, Do said the cost of the mission would “grow unsustainably over time.”
Do said the timeline for which the Mars One mission will attempt to meet is unrealistic.
With NASA planning to send a crew to orbit Mars in the mid-2030s, Do said other experts said “even this is an ambitious timeline.”
Criger said he is optimistic that by 2024, the technological issues of the Mars One mission will be addressed.
“Keep in mind, when President Kennedy proposed that the U.S. would land people on the moon, they didn’t have any of the subsystem designs finalized,” Criger said.
But he admitted the MIT study brought up many important points that must be considered if the Mars One plan is to be a success.
“The real test for Mars One will be how well they respond to technical criticism,” he said.
