In what could potentially be a real-life "Hunger Games" television spectacle, a nonprofit is planning to send people to Mars in 2024--and may put the whole adventure on reality TV.
Mars One, a nonprofit developing a scheme to establish a settlement on the planet, is looking for the four best candidates to send to the Red Planet, CNN reported.
Despite the prospect of giving up their loved ones and the comforts of Earth, an astounding 200,000 people have applied to the organization, a number that so far has been narrowed down to 705.
"Most of us want to explore, want to go new places, and then it's just a question of: How much are you willing to give up to do it?" Leila Zucker, a candidate who made it past the first round, told CNN.
The four people who are eventually chosen will have to be dead certain they're making the right decision: Because of the cost and technological limitations, they will likely live on Mars for the rest of their lives.
If she is among the lucky four, Zucker plans to offer her husband a divorce but to keep wearing her wedding ring, she told CNN. While he doesn't want her to leave, her husband of 21 years was actually the person who told her about Mars One last spring.
"Both of us are space enthusiasts," she told CNN. "Humanity needs to expand off Earth if we expect the human race to succeed in any way beyond just basic survival."
Mars One has a $6 billion plan to send the first settlers to Mars, and one fundraising possibility is making them reality TV stars, something that could bring in sponsors and media coverage.
While Zucker and her husband seem to be at peace with the prospect, another couple isn't so happy about a possible Mars mission.
Fellow candidate Dan Carey believes humans need to populate other planets to survive, but his wife isn't behind his decision to apply with Mars One.
"She's concerned that she's going to have to watch me die on television," Carey said of his wife, as quoted by CNN.
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