LONDON: Three Indians have been shortlisted to move on to the next round of a private mission, which sees four people sent on a one-way trip to Mars in 2024, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

Netherlands-based non-profit organisation Mars One announced out of 202,586 applicants, only 100 hopefuls have been selected to proceed to the next round of the Mars One Astronaut selection process.

The project aims to set up a human colony on Mars and envisions 40 people sent to the red planet on a permanent basis.

Finalists will train for seven years and Mars One will begin sending out four at a time from 2024.

The Mars 100 Round Three candidates include 50 men and 50 women with 39 from the Americas, 31 from Europe, 16 from Asia, seven from Africa and seven from Oceania.

The Indian candidates include 29-year-old Taranjeet Singh Bhatia who is studying a doctorate in computer science at University of Central Florida.

The other two are Ritika Singh, 29, who hails from Dubai and 19-year-old Shradha Prasad from Kerala.

In the second round of application process last year, 27 Indian men and 17 women were shortlisted.

The third round chose 100 candidates from a pool of 660 after they participated in online interviews.

The next round of selection will focus on composing teams that can endure all the hardships of a permanent settlement on Mars. - Bernama