Dublin scientist in final 100 for one-way trip to Mars

A Trinity College scientist has made the shortlist of just 100 people being considered for a one-way trip to Mars.

A Trinity College scientist has made the shortlist of 100 people being considered for a one-way trip to Mars.

Dr Joseph Roche, who works at Trinity's Science Gallery, has made it into round three of the selection programme for the Mars One mission from an initial pool of 202,586 applicants.

The 29-year-old astrophysicist will now enter the next phase of testing for the project, which aims to send a crew of four people on a one-way journey to Mars in 2024.

The most recent round was made up of the 660 candidates selected to take part in online interviews with the privately-funded mission's chief medical officer. During the interview, candidates were assessed on their understanding of the risks involved, as well as "team spirit and their motivation".

Dr Roche, who is also an Assistant Professor in STEM education, is the only Irish candidate to make it to the third round.

In September, he gave a talk at TEDxDublin to explain his choice to volunteer for the mission.

"I have volunteered to spend the next ten years of my life training and preparing so that I might have the opportunity to say goodbye to family, to friends, to everything I have ever known [to go] to a cold, desolate planet where I would live out the rest of my days," he told the event's audience.

"And how do I feel about such a mission? Just fine."

The final 100 candidates are made up of 50 men and 50 women, who will form a pool from which the initial four-person crew are chosen.

After that, another crew will depart every two years, in order to create a permanent settlement.

Roche and his fellow finalists now begin to receive training at an earth-based replica of the Mars outpost, where they will be assessed on their ability to perform well in a team.

“Being one of the best individual candidates does not automatically make you the greatest team player, so I look forward to seeing how the candidates progress and work together in the upcoming challenges.” said Dr Norbert Kraft, chief medical officer.