Irish scientist kicked off Mars One mission after voicing concerns

An Irish scientist has been removed from the Mars One programme for breaching confidentiality.

Dr Joseph Roche spoke out earlier this week about the Mars One mission, claiming it is "hopelessly flawed" and this morning a Mars One spokesperson confirmed to Morning Ireland that he had been removed from the programme.

They say he breached confidentiality rules by voicing his doubts about the mission, adding: "Unfortunately there are several false accusations."

Current Mars100 Finalists refute Mars One “conspiracy theory.” http://t.co/ZHtwjBWwRi
Image credit: Joseph Sweeney pic.twitter.com/reOboBPZhQ

— Mars One (@MarsOneProject) March 18, 2015

Roche, an assistant professor at Trinity College, spoke of his fears that the candidates could be unsuitable for the undertaking.

“All the info they have collected on me is a crap video I made, an application form that I filled out with mostly one-word answers and then a 10-minute Skype interview,”he said.

“That is just not enough info to make a judgment on someone about anything.”

Roche said he would rather distance himself from the project if there's a chance it might damage the future of similar scientic projects.

“My nightmare about it is that people continue to support it and give it money and attention, and it then gets to the point where it inevitably falls on its face,” said Roche.

"If I was somehow linked to something that could do damage to the public perception of science, that is my nightmare scenario.”

Instead he hoped the organisers would admit defeat and put the money they had raised into more viable projects.

READ MORE: Irish Mars One candidate speaks out against the organisation