Two Croats Among 100,000 To Apply For One-Way Ticket To Mars

Just two Croats are among over 100,000 people who have so far applied to take part in a one-way mission to Mars, an expedition to the red planet organised by Dutch company Mars One. Both Croats to apply are named Ivan, one a 26-year-old teacher from the eastern city of Osijek, and the other a 33-year-old geophysicist.

The Dutch company plans to choose crew for a private mission which will become a reality TV show. Mars One are expecting 500,000 people to apply by cut-off at the end of the month. The applicants will then be whittled down to between 50 and 100 for each of the 300 geographical regions identified by the company. By 2015 that number will go down to a total of just over 30. The Mars One project aims to establish the first human settlement on the Red Planet by 2023.

The company has already received thousands of application from over 120 countries. The majority of applicants are from the US, followed by China, the United Kingdom , Russia and Mexico.