A self-portrait by NASA's Curiosity rover shows a Martian dust storm. (NASA photo)

Landing a spot on Mars One's planned rocket to the red planet isn't easy. The selection process has been going on for five years already. After three rounds, 4,200 applicants -- "from architect to janitor," Politico points out -- have been whittled down to an even 100.

No more than 24 Earthlings ultimately will be chosen to transform themselves into Martians.

You might not have heard about Mars One yet. It is not NASA's Mars project, which put its most recent unmanned craft on the planet in November and has a long-term goal of sending astronauts there. It's not even the Mars-mission dream that led entrepreneur Elon Musk to launch SpaceX. It's an independent Dutch operation, with the goal of landing men and women on the red planet by 2032.

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Mars (NASA photo)

Lockheed Martin and Paragon Space Development have created "conceptual design studies" for the project.

One of its public "ambassadors" is the best-selling writer Mary Roach, author of "Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void." She calls Mars One the "ultimate reality-TV event," noting that if it literally gets off the ground it will have a massive global audience.

She adds: "Yet at their core the Mars One team are aerospace professionals with the background and contacts to pull together the technical aspects of the mission. It's 'Jersey Shore' meets NASA meets 'American Idol.' This might just work!"

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👋 Hello from #Mars! The first pics of me taken from space show exactly where I settled down. See if you can spot my solar panels. Also, thank you to my parachute, back shell and heat shield, now at rest on Mars, having safely delivered me to my new home. https://t.co/FkLu6TQgHF pic.twitter.com/xoX5DfnHkp — NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) December 13, 2018

The project's potential astronauts also believe it actually might work. Candidate Kay Radzik says that the potential Mars shot is "giving me kind of something to look forward to" that would allow her to bypass "the mundanities of life."

One big challenge Mars One faces: funding. Its website says it's raised about $1 million so far. They're going to need a lot more scarola. The estimated cost is $6 billion.

As they seek investors and donations, the team continues its search for the best possible astronauts. Candidates are being evaluated on five core criteria: resiliency, adaptability, curiosity, ability to trust and creativity/resourcefulness.

"They'll be subjected to a decade of intense training: sequestered in a remote location where they will learn to grow food, repair technology and offer medical training," the New York Post reports. "No one will be given a return ticket."

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This composite photo was created from over 100 images of Mars taken by Viking Orbiters in the 1970s. (NASA photo)

Um, did they say the potential astronauts know they're not coming back...?

Yep. Says the Mars One website forthrightly: "None will return."

"The idea is that there is a greater goal," said filmmaker Julia Ngeow, who's directing a four-part series about the Mars One astronaut candidates. "It's greater than the individual -- it's being part of a larger thing for humanity."

Here's Mars One's official line about its astronauts' likely ability to survive on the red planet: "Living on Mars cannot be considered entirely risk-free, in particular during the first few years. There are a number of elements that could pose a problem."

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The most recent Mars lander places an earthquake monitor on the planet's dusty surface. (NASA via AP)

The remaining candidates say they're ready to tackle the problems, whatever they turn out to be.

"It's just part of my childhood dreams," 36-year-old Army reservist R. Daniel Golden-Castano told the Post.

Legendary astronaut Frank Borman, however, doesn't expect Golden-Castano to see those dreams realized. In a recent BBC radio interview, the retired commander of Apollo 8 called the various manned Mars mission plans "nonsense."

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-- Douglas Perry

@douglasmperry

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