Hey, Remember When I Said They Should Do an "Astronaut Camp" Reality TV Show with First Prize Being a Trip to Space...?

Well, a group calling itself "Mars One" wants to send people to Venus -- no, just kidding, Mars, but I didn't feel like writing "the Red Planet" just because of this dumb semi-rule that you can't use the same word twice -- and anyway, they want to generate money for this via a reality tv show.

Now, as people are apparently consulting the blog for TV show ideas, here's two more I've not seen any action on yet:

"Knight Train," about a robot train that solves mysteries; and

"Bear Fucker," a reality tv show in which contestants earn cash prizes by sneaking into the den of a hibernating bear and sexing it. Bonus cash if it's a male bear.

Now back to this Mars business. There are two catches: 1, you have to pay $25 to even enter their phony-baloney sweepstakes.

In an attempt to separate serious candidates from dreamers, the company plans to institute an entry fee that will vary depending on your native country. It's reportedly going to top off at $25 though, so hopefuls won't need to take out a second mortgage to plot out their departure from Earth. The mandatory fee is also a means for Mars One to secure funding for the actual trip and Mars colony buildout.

Nigerian-style fund-raising is what I call "a real confidence builder."

Catch 2 -- first prize is a one way ticket to Mars. That's right.

...

Mars One has already been met with 10,000 emails from interested parties, but it remains to be seen how many of those will translate into serious contenders. And considering the voyage is a one-way trip — you read that right, Mars One won't be providing anyone with a ride back home — it's certainly a dramatic decision.

So, the catch is, if you win the contest, you'll go to Mars for free.

Cost for coming home? Expected to be in the range of 43 bazillion dollars.

But if you average that out it's only 21.5 bazillion dollars for each leg.

posted by Ace at 03:43 PM

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