78,000 apply for one-way mission to Mars

[longship]

39. Four at a time with regular launches of four more.

At least the new arrivals will have food waiting for them. Shades of the Donner Party.

Of course, this is all if the manage to survive the trip. Shielding from cosmic rays and CME's is no little task as shielding means more mass, and there's that pesky Tsiolkovsky rocket equation in which greater mass launched means much greater mass due to the... Fucking rocket equation!! There's no escaping it. Nor is there an escape from the cosmic radiation, except for launching more mass as shielding. Water would work well, as it is a superb absorber; that's why it's used to shield nuclear reactors. But water is fucking massive and then you've got Tsiolkovsky staring you in the face again.

I don't see this happening without a huge "Manhattan Project" level commitment, which isn't going to happen by a private concern. This is something that only whole governments can accomplish, and today would likely only happen by a collaboration of multiple governments.

Oh! Did anybody tell you that the funding for this boondoggle is a reality TV program? That's right. When they all die on Mars -- assuming they make it alive -- it will be broadcast like a warped real life episode of "Survivor".

I wonder if Yau Man Chan has applied. Doubtful. I think he probably is happy at UC Berkeley.