Reality shows may just happen in space.
Snooki and the other housewives won’t actually be catapulted into space (What a great reality show that would make!), but one Dutch company thinks that we’re only about two decades away from a reality show in space.
Up in Space
That’s in space, not set in space. Actually in space. (Recently deceased author Ray Bradbury would be delighted!)
By 2030 Mars One plans to have enough astronaut volunteers to not only put people on Mars, but to launch a reality show about it. The reality show would help fund the project. One of the many catches?
The first is that this is a one-way ticket to Mars; you’re not coming back. Those who make the decision to live on Mars are committing to live out the rest of their lives on Mars. There are so many questions that I can only imagine the answers to. What will happen to waste? Will it be possible to be green on the Red Planet? Will there be a way to communcate with those back on planet Earth?
The second is that this little experiment will cost in the ballpark of 6 billion dollars to fund the first four space travelers, although Mars One is, according to MSNBC, confident that they can raise that kind of money by selling major corporate sponsorships. And of course, Mars One proposes to raise money for this project from the reality show that will feature the colony going through day-to-day life on Mars.
Plan of Action
According to the Mars One video, this plan will happen in segments, starting with a communication satellite will be sent to Mars in 2016; in 2018, a rover will go to Mars to find a proper location for the settlement; and in 2020, settlement compounds will be sent to Mars. For more about Project Mars One, please click here to see their video.
Is there life on Mars? If Mars One has anything to say about it, we’ll put it there.
I can’t help but remember Stephen Hawking’s birthday wish when all he asked for was that we begin taking the care of our environment seriously. From what I’ve read of the plans for this eventual Mars reality show, it seems that there’s no mention of any environmental reasons for this project to happen, but even the promise of it is extraordinary and a mark of how far we’ve come in technological advancement.
