Colonizing Mars could become a reality in the very near future. Mars One announced that they will begin accepting applications for people who wish to take a one way-trip to be the first people to colonize the red planet.

Over 200,000 people signed up for this trip. If all goes according to plan then the first group of people will land sometime in the 2025. In the year 2018 an unmanned ship is to be sent to Mars to add a communications satellite and a robotic lander. The first manned trip would have four people and would take around 210 days to complete. Every two years after that four more people would be sent.

One of the biggest issues with this trip is that the technology does not exist for a return flight home. This means that if you arrive at Mars then you are staying there for the rest of your life.

A one way trip to Mars may be appealing to some but others would not dare spend the rest of their lives on an alien planet away from the rest of civilization.

This type of mission would inspire future generations to continue learning about space and exploring deeper into our universe. The people that would civilize Mars would be remembered for the rest of the human era.

Students are not sure how they feel about this and whether or not a trip like this is worth the money or the effort.

“It’s a pretty good idea, I just hope on the way up there they don’t die,” junior Ben Brungardt said.

This project is still early in development and whether or not something like this actually happens depends on the type of funding that they receive. If something like this gets funded in full it would be one of mans greatest accomplishments in all of history.

”I think colonizing another planet is a great idea, but I think we should probably start with one really close to home like the Moon,”said Biology Teacher Scott Crenshaw.

Science teachers have many different views

”It does represent the spirit of man and man’s desire to explore,”said Space and Science Teacher Jim Hartman.

Hartman believes that if we as the human race are capable to do something of this stature then we should attempt to do so.

“If the capabilities to do it are and if everything is in place,the funding,the engineering and the spirit of man, and people are willing to do that then I would be all for that.”