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THE one-way ticket is a powerful motif.

It marks the end of one chapter of life and the beginning of another, uncertain one. Boney-M sang about having a “one-way ticket, one-way ticket to the blues/Choo, choo train chuggin’ down the track” . I have felt that pain. Recently, I lost a return train ticket and was forced to… [chokes back the tears] … sorry, I can’t talk about it. It’s still too raw.

Now, there is a one-way ticket of even more significance than paying €62.50 to get to Dublin. The Dutch organisation, Mars One, has opened the selection process for astronauts to travel to Mars. With the unpredictable effects of a seven-month journey and living in a Martian environment alien to the astronauts’ physiques, they might not be able to return.