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Sad to say this but...Did anyone ever consider prisoners or terminally ill people. I'm sure there is a number of these people who would volunteer for missions like this as an alternative to living out their life here on Earth. I understand Australia was basically founded this way.

Sounds so creepy. Like the movie 'Sunshine,' but sans the urgency.

If I were offered a one-way trip to Mars, I would have no second thoughts in accepting it - and I'm not a prisoner or terminally ill, either. :)

Going to Mars would be a dream come true, for me, and for a lot of other people. While I want to go for the chance to experience and discover things that no one else has before, there certainly would be others who would get a thrill from the danger and the instant fame.

I mean, being one of the first people to set foot on Mars would ensure that you're remembered for all time (more or less).

And with the way the world's going, I'm sure there are plenty of people who wouldn't mind saying goodbye to the wars, diseases, crime, etc. of the Earth. You know, so they can bring all that stuff to Mars. ;)

I'm sure I can accomplish more on Mars in a few years than I am likely to in an entire lifetime on this planet. There are probably other people who feel the same way.

Either way, sign me up!

I'm in... in an effing heartbeat.

this article gave me chills. of excitement! i would absolutely love to go to mars on a one way ticket. i have a girlfriend, family, friends, but if i had the chance to explore ANOTHER PLANET?? i'd do it. no questions asked. i'm there.

pwscott: you are basically completely incorrect.

I'm sure more people than they realize would sign up for a program like that in an instant.
I say go for it. I'm not one of those people. The thought of not being able to come back home, not being able to go outside and breath in a lung-full of fresh air.. just no...
but if other people are up for it. More power to them! I'll sit at home and watch them on tv religiously! That would be SO damn interesting to watch.

Seriously, that's a really depressing thought.

Oh come on. You candy asses wouldn't last two weeks all by yourself.

You would only live until the Zomtians found you.

I'm reminded of the short story "Hinterlands" by William Gibson; the succession of explorers did come back (to a space station) with plenty of patent-worthy info but almost always insane or DOA by suicide... and as one of the handlers says "Even now, knowing what I know, I still want to go."

Still. Even knowing that you will find people like that, I'm ill at ease to think of public policy built on the one-way-ticket idea, entrenched in the concept of the disposable human. And don't counter with "that what war's all about": it's one thing to say you might not come home, or even probably not, another to say you WILL not, even to a volunteer. So instead of a suicide bomber's lure of a virgin-laden paradise, you offer academic glory and screen-time? Because it's going to take a few missions at least until things are sorted out enough to the point that life expectancy is "shortened by a little bit" as in this gentleman's softening statement. And they won't be pretty.

"And now, live from Mars: Big Brother."

I dare say that LOTS of very highly esteemed scientists would sign in if they got the opportunity- A one-way trip to Eternal Glory and Fame and a whole row of First discoveries behind your name- Vallies and mountains and tunnel-systems and effects and layers and minerals and perhaps later on communities and streets or habitat-units and lab's on Mars with your name. Some streets, buildings, spacecraft and statues on Earth with your name and your name promimently in the Wiki and the Encyclopedia's and works of reference that matter......

Heck most main scientists anyhow only get famous only after they died and without them knowing it. So why not die on Mars and be sure about that place in History?

i'm in.

Read the Heechee Saga by Frederik Pohl.. Basically details this scenario... Send them to mars, and give them a percentage of the profits incurred by their discoveries... Even if you die, your family may be set for life... course you could die, and get nothing, but risk takers abound!

I would not be volunteering, but it sounds like a great idea. It's pretty much the same deal offered to colonists, pioneers, and explorers throughout history. If you actually survived the ocean voyage or the harsh terrain, you and your entire expedition could die in hundreds of ways once you arrived. One thing holding back manned space exploration is NASA's extreme aversion to risk and death. When people do dangerous things and go to dangerous places, some of them are going to die and others aren't going to be coming back home. Let's acknowledge that fact and get on with it.

@pwscott:
I'll put aside my opinions on the morality of your suggestion for a moment and concentrate on logistics.

This would conflict with the general idea that once they arrive, the people/explorers/colonists should do useful work- and by that, they mean useful both to themselves and to those of us back on Earth. For that we need scientists, doctors, engineers, and other highly skilled people who are motivated to work hard for little tangible reward.

To be written down into the history books as one of the first humans to settle and live on Mars? Count me in, baby!

i would love to volunteer,will be the first in line knowing i wouldnt come back this article really excited me and the dreams i always had