Now all you need is for VASIMIR to actually work like they say it does, and a 20-megawatt nuclear reactor in space.

When people on Mars have to be rational and efficient the viewers will quickly tire of the show. Can’t really use landscape pictures to keep the attention, Mars is rather dull. Back in the days of the Apollo program they lost the audience in 4 or 5 trips only.

Aside from this I do hope for a Mars settling.

Once the get onto the planet, they won’t be abandoned for lack of funds if the past is any indication, more likely a group will form to send supply ships, whether its in the Netherlands, the US, or elsewhere.

However, living on mars presents many problems other than need for supplies currently on Earth, such as meteors, long-term exposure to radiation that is normally weakened by the magnetosphere and ozone layer on Earth, and machine failure.

To minimize risk, all living units should contain radiation shields, material for which could be taken from the Mars landscape. Mars bound asteroids should be tracked to the ground as well as our current equipment allows, and the settlement shouldn’t be built anywhere near projected impact sites. Preferably, the “buildings” could be moved if a new meteor threat is detected. And, of course, all systems should have as much redundancy as possible.

Check out the wiki on VASIMIR, the engine is going to be tested on the space station soon.

Of course I suspect that the real business plan may be cashing out and disappearing after the first reality show for the selection of astronauts, but I really hope it is for real.

I hope they are betting on success.

@Carbone re “This [crowdsourced selection of astronauts] will be the whole reality show then it gets canned.”

Of course there is this possibility and, even worse, perhaps this is the real business plan. In today’s scamonomy, I wouldn’t be surprised. But let’s stay optimist for a while, I totally love this project.

The challenges for colonists on Mars will dwarf those faced by the early Dutch and English colonists in North America — and they died like flies. A project like this can’t be planned on a shoestring. Massive redundancy and triple or quadruple cost overruns must be anticipated (and then doubled again in all probability). And if the Mars One company goes bankrupt on Earth, will there be an insurance policy to help finance efforts by whatever government/private agency responsible for keeping the colonists alive? I don’t know… It’s a pretty idea but is not as easy as they would like us to believe.

This will be the whole reality show then it gets canned.