78,000 apply for one-way mission to Mars

[longship]

80. Hence my two posts in this thread.

But I would also like to think that this isn't a publicity stunt merely for the televisionary set.

There are some very smart people who think a occupied mission to Mars is within reach, like Robert Zubrin. Here's an autotune synopsis of his argument courtesy of Symphony of Science.

Alas, I am skeptical of Zubrin's claims. But the moon is a mere three days away, not many months. Landing on the moon is easier, much easier. Plus, that mean old rocket equation can work for you when gravity is only 1/6 of earth's. Mars is better than twice that. The best is that the moon doesn't have to be a one way mission and that once a permanent residence is established it can be a great platform to launch humans to anywhere else in the solar system. It's that old rocket equation again. Plus a bit of advantage from the Interplanetary Transport System, often called the interplanetary super highway, which provides very low energy transfer orbits between any two locations in the solar system.

We've used the ITS for satellites to the outer solar system for years. But it takes a stable base at a location with low gravity to make it really pay off. For instance, the moon.

Mars One missed their mark. It should have been Moon Base Alpha!