Around 1,800 Indians apply for the Mars One project

Many of us may not be alive to see an Indian stepping on the Moon, but there’s a high chance we could see one stepping on Mars. According to a ToI report, nearly 1,800 Indians have applied for the Mars One program, which will send a contingent of humans to the Red Planet in 2022 to settle there permanently.

“This program is proving to be extremely popular among Indians,” Aashima Dogra, spokesperson of the Netherland-based Mars One said. “The number of Indians who’ve applied has increased from 6 in May to 1,800 in the last three months.” She further reveals that off the 1,800, a large part of them are from Bangalore.

For those who aren’t familiar, Mars One is an NGO which plans to settle a group of humans on Mars in 2023. To fund this ambitious project, the program will televise every aspect of the mission, right from launch to landing and living on Mars.

The program is currently open for anyone to apply and only needs the applicant to pay $7 (Rs 432 approximately) as an initial fee. The main criteria for applying are that the applicant should be over the age of 18 and is mentally stable. According to the plans listed on the company website, the training will begin in 2015, followed by the launch of two rovers in 2018 and a cargo mission in 2020. The first human flight will be in 2022. The company is currently looking for the right space ship to take the applicants to the Red Planet.