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Clearly he hasn't heard of Mars One

Of course then we'd have to engineer humans that didn't suffer bone decalcification due to the low gravity...

Scientists correct me if I'm wrong on this, but ones bones would adjust to be only as strong as needed and bone decalcification and weakness would only be a problem if/when returning to a higher gravity place, like Earth. Simply join the Mars One team and don't look back.

I think the greatest PR thing NASA could do would be to say "F all this data blackout shite, taxpayers get a live "CBS big brother" feed of whatever we download, as it arrives". Of course that would result in their webservers melting, and a lot of idiotic comments, but it would also result in explosive interest levels.

It appears that is EXACTLY what the MarsOne organization has in mind http://mars-one.com/en/.. They plan on getting major funding thru making the astronaut selection (supposedly to begin in a few years) and everything else in the initial planning and execution stages between now and 2023, as essentially a reality-tv series.. From reading their website, they seem to have their act together.. Admittedly, they are going for a VERY far-fetched goal, but geez.. if you wait for NASA or even other governments to do a Mars misson, you'll be waiting forever... I for one, wish them the best, and will consider donating when I have the finances to be able to...

"A manned mission to Mars will attract attention from hundreds of millions of people around the world. The three week period surrounding the launch, and the three week period surrounding the landing on Mars, will attract global media attention comparable to (or more likely, significantly exceeding that of) the Olympic Games." http://mars-one.com/en/faq-en/23-faq-feasability/257-what-is-the-business-model

It appears you haven't actually looked at their website. Some of those longer-term techs are still in progress, but if you have a read, everything else they need *already exists*. It was one of the core things they were looking for - tech that isn't fiction, but which they can actually go and buy now. Go have a look: www.mars-one.com.

I will feel great sadness for the first settlers until a crew is able to bring along some cats (and maybe a small-animal vet to accompany and exercise them so their little bones don't deteriorate on their seven month journey).

Are there plans to eventually send pets for company or livestock for food?

Other than the much-needed companionship, I think sending animals might be a better way to test the viability of conception and gestation than having the humans test it.

Speaking of conception, will profilactics be sent along with the marstranauts? Will they be able to produce their own from local materials on mars? I know they're being encouraged to not attempt to have children, but how will that be prevented?

Nobody sets out knowing they were going to die in the process except suicide bombers.

Right. Tell that to the guy who's buddy jumped on a grenade to save his life, or the family of a firefighter who dies trying to save a kid, or the father who continues to work in an unsafe coal mine or oil rig to support his family. People willingly risk (or even embrace) death for causes all the damn time. There are people who are willing to embrace the strong possibility of death - or living out the rest of their lives far from home with very slim to no chance of return - for a cause they believe in. We're all gonna die someday; why not do it on (or on the way to) Mars? Hell, I might consider it if I had the correct training and no family to need me here. There's something strongly appealing about being the first to do something, one who risks everything on the chance to do something that might truly matter in the millennial long run. Sure beats dying alone from a heart attack after one too many french fries.

Also, perhaps you've not read the project's FAQ? Here you go, if you haven't: http://mars-one.com/en/faq-en. The intent is for the first 4 explorers to hit Mars, set up a base with power, oxygen and water generation, set up a greenhouse for food, and pave the way for future landings in order to set up manufacturing facilities for further expansion. Sure, they're risking death with no immediate chance to come home, but they're not intending to just walk out the airlock and die the moment they land. From a "risking death" or a "never coming home" standpoint, how is this worse than sending a ship across an unmapped ocean to explore or colonize an unknown landing site an unknown distance away, under unknown conditions, hoping the provided provisions are enough to survive on until a self-sustaining system is set up? Just like so many amazing people have done throughout human history?

We've all gotten so used to puttering around a globe with very few frontiers left that we've forgotten what it's like to truly venture into the unknown. My original point stands: there's historical precedent for a certain type of people that would WANT to live out the rest of their lives on Mars, for it is a cause they believe in, so ethics are not in question.

Sure there is the question of ethics approval (addressed here), but in the first place, how do you get all the materials needed to live on mars?
I understand you will bring some algae to produce oxygen. You can't cut down trees to make sheds, drill for oil or hunt deer and live off that. What will the astronauts eat? What can they use as raw materials? I don't understand how you can create a full circle without bringing everything. Maybe I'm not aware of the raw materials available on Mars.

Sure there is the question of ethics approval (addressed here), but in the first place, how do you get all the materials needed to live on mars?
I understand you will bring some algae to produce oxygen. You can't cut down trees to make sheds, drill for oil or hunt deer and live off that. What will the astronauts eat? What can they use as raw materials? I don't understand how you can create a full circle without bringing everything. Maybe I'm not aware of the raw materials available on Mars.

Besides, emigrating does not have to mean permanent residence on Mars. Once the settlement is populated, we can send components for a return rocket. With people on Mars the occupants can build, fuel and check the return rocket.