One-Way Tickets to Mars Prove Popular

The Daily Mail reports 78,000 people from more than 120 countries have applied for one-way tickets to the planet Mars, where they would live for the rest of their lives and be featured on a reality TV show. Applicants have paid £20 — $30.71 in U.S. currency — to be considered for the trip. 

A Dutch company, Mars One, says it plans to fly four people there every year beginning in 2023. Energy will come from solar panels and food will be grown on the planet, the Daily Mail reports, and a supply mission is supposed to land as soon as October 2016.

Mars One's website reads, "Mars 2013: Inhabitants Wanted" and highlights its applicants thus far, along with their video submissions in which they explain why they want to settle on Mars.  

In explaining the qualifications necessary to apply, Mars One states, "In spaceflight missions, the primary personal attributes of a successful astronaut are emotional and psychological stability, supported by personal drive and motivation. This is the foundation upon a mission must be built, where human lives are at risk with each flight."

Dr. Chris Lintoot with Oxford University said the mission is plausible but the problem lies in funding. Dr. Veronica Bray of the University of Arizona said the planet's surface is "hostile to life." 

Click here to read the full Daily Mail report. Interested in applying? Read about the application and selection process.

Would you accept a one-way ticket to Mars? Tell us what you think about the project in the comments section. Crazy or incredibly cool if Mars One could pull it off?