Mars One or MLM?

March 17, 2015 10:41 AM

"As Roche observed the process from an insider’s perspective, his concerns increased. Chief among them: that some leading contenders for the mission had bought their way into that position, and are being encouraged to “donate” any appearance fees back to Mars One — which seemed to him very strange for an outfit that needs billions of dollars to complete its objective."

“When you join the ‘Mars One Community,’ which happens automatically if you applied as a candidate, they start giving you points,” Roche explained to me in an email. “You get points for getting through each round of the selection process (but just an arbitrary number of points, not anything to do with ranking), and then the only way to get more points is to buy merchandise from Mars One or to donate money to them.”

posted by googly (38 comments total)

Mars One is a scam? I am shocked...shocked!
posted by TedW at 11:05 AM on March 17, 2015 [10 favorites]

Called it. Nobody involved with Mars One is ever going to Mars.

I'm curious where they got the 2761 figure for number of applicants; the source isn't cited.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:09 AM on March 17, 2015

Called it.

You and a billion other people.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 11:12 AM on March 17, 2015 [7 favorites]

Nobody involved with Mars One is ever going to Mars.

Can we send the guy who started it? With the current level of preparation?
posted by nubs at 11:14 AM on March 17, 2015 [5 favorites]

Can we send the guy who started it? With the current level of preparation?

Well, you can send them towards Mars. I think to Mars is a bit ambitious.
posted by ambrosen at 11:20 AM on March 17, 2015 [15 favorites]

You and a billion other people.

There was some self-mockery involved there that didn't come across. Sorry about that.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:22 AM on March 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Further reading and more depth here, if interested.
posted by LiteS at 11:24 AM on March 17, 2015

Well, you can send them towards Mars. I think to Mars is a bit ambitious.

Assume he masses 100kg? We could easily send him to Mars.

Of course, this elides things like "life support" and "soft landing", but the Mars One proposal does too, so I think I'm good there.
posted by eriko at 11:26 AM on March 17, 2015 [9 favorites]

There was some self-mockery involved there that didn't come across. Sorry about that.

No, it's cool. I mean, I'd say save the mockery for the people who thought this was really going to happen, but that would be kind of cruel on top of having their dreams crushed.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 11:28 AM on March 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

I regret doing an earlier FPP on Mars One. At that point, I thought they were a poor bet and likely to fail, but not an outright scam, as it now appears. It was such a pretty dream, that we could send people who weren't former pilots or from a highly specialized background. Mars One is taking full advantage of such dreams.
posted by Countess Elena at 11:29 AM on March 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

...So Mars One couldn't hold up to the Roche limit? Imagine that.
posted by Smart Dalek at 11:32 AM on March 17, 2015 [5 favorites]

You know who I'd believe could organize an expedition to Mars? Buzz Aldrin.
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:33 AM on March 17, 2015 [3 favorites]

If the folks behind Mars One were smart, they should really pull an Ascension. Pick folks who are science-ignorant, make up some phony reason like 'constant acceleration,' put them all in a cube in the desert with lots of cameras, and film the drama.
posted by leotrotsky at 11:34 AM on March 17, 2015 [5 favorites]

Nobody involved with Mars One is ever going to Mars.

Can we send the guy who started it?

The Sun is closer. Let's send him to the Sun.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:51 AM on March 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

I like to put a positive spin on this -- at least we won't be treated to a future FPP of the horrifying final videos of the "lucky winners" who got part way to Mars....
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:07 PM on March 17, 2015

Can we send the guy who started it? With the current level of preparation?

Only if lithobraking is employed.
posted by whuppy at 12:12 PM on March 17, 2015 [6 favorites]

You know who I'd believe could organize an expedition to Mars? Buzz Aldrin.

You better believe him!
posted by adept256 at 12:24 PM on March 17, 2015

It took me a second to realize that 'MLM' wasn't 'Martian Landing Module'. :)
posted by Mogur at 12:43 PM on March 17, 2015

Mogur - I thought it was a typo for M&M and this was a candy thread.
posted by stevil at 12:47 PM on March 17, 2015

I thought it was a typo for Eminem and this was a hip-hop thread.
posted by Strange Interlude at 12:50 PM on March 17, 2015

I thought it was a typo for "Mom" and this was a reason to give her a call.
posted by Floydd at 12:56 PM on March 17, 2015 [3 favorites]

I thought it was a typo for M4M and this was Craigslist.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 1:10 PM on March 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

I thought it was a typo for MGM and the plan had changed to send lions instead of humans.
posted by sparklemotion at 1:20 PM on March 17, 2015 [4 favorites]

You know who I'd believe could organize an expedition to Mars? Buzz Aldrin.

Absolutely!
posted by TedW at 1:22 PM on March 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

It's the freakiest show... Herba-Life on Mars?
posted by Gordafarin at 2:26 PM on March 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

Imagine it's 1492 and you offer select positions on a ship so long as you're willing to be drawn in an illuminated manuscript! And bring doubloons!

Yeah, the more things change..
posted by nickggully at 2:31 PM on March 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Except that Columbus actually had a boat and a map. These assbags have some pretty marketing materials.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 3:32 PM on March 17, 2015 [3 favorites]

Well I think they have a better idea of where Mars is than Columbus did about what he always thought was India, but he was way ahead of Mars One in the boat department for sure.
posted by localroger at 3:49 PM on March 17, 2015 [2 favorites]

Imagine its today, and companies who will actually pay you, and house you and feed you, want to pay you to go to arctic Canada to work on mineral extraction projects. yes, there are job openings for real humans in ghastly inhospitable places, rather like Mars, and you can quit and go home before you die of boredom, or exposure.
posted by Abinadab at 4:25 PM on March 17, 2015 [4 favorites]

If the folks behind Mars One were smart, they should really pull an Ascension. Pick folks who are science-ignorant, make up some phony reason like 'constant acceleration,' put them all in a cube in the desert with lots of cameras, and film the drama.

Someone actually did this!
posted by exact_change at 4:33 PM on March 17, 2015

So now it is most definately a monetary scam, but what kind of scam and how long can it go on for? I mean is it a Pyramid scheme, or confidence scam, or cargo cult or ... What?
posted by Faintdreams at 4:57 PM on March 17, 2015

Mars One is taking full advantage of such dreams

These victims are suffering lightly. Earlier faux spacefarers have not been so lucky.
posted by CynicalKnight at 5:33 PM on March 17, 2015

"It was such a pretty dream, that we could send people who weren't former pilots or from a highly specialized background. Mars One is taking full advantage of such dreams."

Mars One may be a scam, but that's very achievable as dreams go. A wide pool of applicants could be narrowed through rigorous medical and psychological testing and then trained from zero. The key would be getting the right kind of people to start with. Hard working, calm, level headed people - and absolutely no one with claustrophobia. The Russians have locked folks in cans for a year in simulations and they came out all right, so this is well within the realm of human achievement. And so long as it's a return trip there'd be no problem finding candidates.

Gerard ’t Hooft thinks it might take a hundred years to prepare for a real Mars mission. I wouldn't be quite so pessimistic. We could probably do it in ten years if Mars became a focus lke the Apollo Project focused on the Moon, but those first astronauts (Areinauts?) would have to take some huge risks trying out untested technologies. It would probably be safer to go in twenty years after everything is tested, so say 2035. But that assumes an Apollo Project-like effort involving many thousands of people over the twenty years.
posted by Kevin Street at 6:28 PM on March 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Except that Columbus actually had a boat and a map.

They'll probably catch up on this one : I bet _some_ of the funds they collect will go towards the purchase of boats.
posted by Dr Dracator at 4:15 AM on March 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

Except that Columbus actually had a boat and a map.

Interestingly, because of continental drift, Columbus likely wouldn't have survived if he set out on the same trip today.
posted by porpoise at 1:16 PM on March 18, 2015

Interestingly, because of continental drift, Columbus likely wouldn't have survived if he set out on the same trip today.

Can you expand more on that? I'm pretty ignorant of geological things but I didn't think the drift would be so dramatic over half a millenium.
posted by sparklemotion at 2:29 PM on March 18, 2015

The average spread rate is a couple centimetres annually. So 15 steps at most.
posted by Mitheral at 9:46 PM on March 18, 2015 [2 favorites]

So what you're saying is, he'd need a bigger boat.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 12:29 AM on March 19, 2015 [3 favorites]