Irish man off Mars One mission

An Irishman who was among 100 finalists for the Mars One mission has been kicked off the project after labelling it “hopelessly flawed”.

Dr Joseph Roche, an astrophysicist and assistant professor at Trinity College Dublin, spoke out against the multibillion-dollar programme’s “secretive” selection process and voiced concerns about final stage applicants being ranked on a points system which rewards those who raise the most money.

“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,” he told Medium magazine.