This is one of the sadder and more infuriating things I’ve heard in a bit… if it’s true. When Mars One launched, it was a huge deal. Thousands of people from all over the world applied to be one of the chosen few to take the one way trip to Mars. Now, there’s some evidence stacking up that shows the whole thing might just be some elaborate scam.
Here’s what Topless Robot had to say:
A former NASA researcher named Joseph Roche filled out an application to be one of those astronauts. Roche found a web of bad management, oddball financial commitments, and, he finally surmised, a giant scam behind the Mars One project.
In a recent report to IFL Science, Roche described a suspicious audition process. There was a medical examination, an online quiz, and a few forms to fill out. There was no in-person interview. Roche found himself in a group of the final 100 (of 200,000 applicants, according to Mars One, although Roche found that the number may be closer to 2,000), but had yet to meet anyone from Mars One. He did learn, however, that one could accrue more “points” and work their way up the list by making donations and buying merch. Yeah, doesn’t really sound on the up-and-up to me either.