Mars One/Bryan Versteeg

Big Brother creator Endemol has signed the global rights to turn the Mars One crew selection process into a reality TV show. The so-called "world's toughest interview" will pick six teams of four out of the current list of 705 candidates -- whittled down from the 200,000 who originally showed interest.

The broadcasting agreement, which is crucial to securing the £3.6 billion in private funding for the one-way mission, will see UK-based Darlow Smithson Productions (DSP) filming the amateur astronaut hopefuls as they are put through their paces. The selection process will have the participants "tested to the extreme in one of the most extraordinary and challenging job interviews ever seen".


The Mars One mission aims to put four astronauts on the Red Planet by 2025, where they will establish a new society from scratch, growing their own food in inflatable pods and extracting water from the frozen, -60C soil. Once the colony is set up, additional teams of four would be sent out every two years -- at a cost of £2.3 billion per trip -- in order to swell the community to 20 people by 2033.

Selecting the first Martian colonists will consist of putting the shortlisted applicants -- from all walks of life -- through a series of tests designed by a panel of pre-eminent scientists, adventurers and astronauts. The assessment is designed for each hopeful to "demonstrate that they have acquired the intricate knowledge and skills as well as the high levels of psychological and physical performance needed".

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Iain Riddick, DSP's head of special projects, said: "This has to be the world's toughest job interview for what is, without question, a world-first opportunity and the human stories that emerge will captivate and inspire generations across the globe."

Of the 705 still in the selection pool, 22 are from Britain, including Sarah Johnson, 30, an accountant from Inverness. In the application video Sarah sent to the Mars One organisation, she said: "The reason I want to go on the mission to Mars is I find myself waking up every morning thinking there must be more to life.

I want to dispel the myth that accountants are dull."

After final selections have been made, scheduled for July 2015, the six winning crews will be placed into an eight-year full-time training regime in order to prepare them for the projected 2024 mission launch. Many in the spaceflight industry see this target as "optimistic", with Nasa planning their own manned mission for 2035.


Bas Lansdorp, Co-founder & CEO of Mars One said: "Bringing the story of our incredibly brave aspiring Martians to the world now officially begins with what we feel is a perfect partnership."

That partnership, doubtlessly helped along by Big Brother co-creator Paul Römer, who now works as an ambassador for the Mars One project. The Big Brother aspect of the endeavour is evident in the way audiences can have their say on who will be put through to later stages, with the panel of experts having a deciding influence on additional candidates.

We hope there's no plans to implement an eviction vote after the missions begin. That could get dangerous.