Watch out, Kardashians! A Dutch company says it will produce the biggest reality show on the planet, centered on a group of humans who colonize Mars.
In the wake of SpaceX’s first successful commercial mission to the International Space Station last month, Mars One has vowed a much grander feat, according to reports.
The firm claims that it will put four people on the red planet every two years beginning in April 2023. By 2033, Mars One boasts there will be 20 colonists on Mars.
Mars One is founded by Bas Lansdorp, a researcher from the Netherlands with a master's in science from Delft University of Technology, according to PC Magazine.
Lansdorp says in a promotional video that "creating the biggest media event ever" will finance the out-of-this-world venture.
According to the U.K. Daily Mail, the "media event" will be similar to a reality show, and "Big Brother" co-creator Paul Romer is on board.
If Mars One’s mission sounds too fantastic, consider that the company also has the backing of Nobel prize-winning physicist Gerard 't Hooft.
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"My first impression was that this is an extraordinary project by people with vision, imagination," Hooft says in Mars One’s video. "But my first reaction was I think like anyone who would be confronted by such an idea: this will never work."
Still, he said he was convinced it could happen because the company has a plan for solving a tough challenge: how to get the colonists back to Earth. In Mars One’s case, they won't. Colonists would stay on the red planet for the rest of their lives.
Mars One claims that it has scored letters of interest for all the suppliers it will need to pull off its mission.
PC Magazine’s Andario Strange notes that while there's no assurance that the mission will become reality, at the very least the idea will inspire others to enter the brave new world of commercial space endeavors.
