NASA Is Already Studying What Sort of Person Is Best Suited For Mars (blastingnews.com)

MarkWhittington writes: The first crew to set forth to Mars are likely in Middle School or High School, but NASA is already delving into what criteria it should use to select the interplanetary explorers. That they should be physically fit and experts in their fields are a given. But the space agency is keen that the people who will set forth to Mars in 20 years or so should be of a particular psychological type. NASA has granted Johns Hopkins money to conduct a study into the problem.

Comments

Gonna go out on a limb here

[redmid17]

It's probably going to be an exceedingly intelligent, physically fit, mentally well-adjusted white man

You know like 90%+ of the astronauts they've ever picked. Optional: Actually having been in space, spent time on the ISS, or experienced crushing loneliness for months/years at a time

If loneliness were a pre-req, us slashdotters would cut to the front of the line!

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[TWX]

I'm betting that those that are good for the Navy's Submarine Service would also have a good chance. Being locked in one metal tube for months on-end versus being locked in another metal tube for months on-end, plus having an elevated amount of responsibility and the ever-present risk that an otherwise-small problem having drastic consequences.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

No, I think you are going to want someone who doesn't get lonely, but rather enjoys time alone.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[redmid17]

I agree, too bad you're disagreeing with something I didn't say.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[93 Escort Wagon]

I worked on some science missions out in the middle of the Greenland ice sheet, back in the day. The support crews there were largely made up of rural Alaskans. They were chosen in part because they (demonstrably) were able to handle being very isolated for long periods of time.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

You said soul crushing loneliness. If you really enjoy time alone, you don't feel lonely at all, so there is no loneliness. And it's an enjoyable thing, not soul-crushing.

I've never experienced soul-crushing loneliness because I don't get lonely, but unlike what you stated, I'd be a good candidate.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[redmid17]

Have you been in an isolation chamber? Or alone on a space station?
Thinking before writing helps. You don't have to enjoy loneliness to have experienced it. "War is hell" but I'd rather go to war with a general who'd been in one than one who hadn't.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

And the other part because they were used to living and working in a cold environment I bet. People used to living a solitary life on a tropical island probably wouldn't be quite as at home.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

> enjoy loneliness
That's an oxymoron.

Solitude is the word you can't seem to grasp. I enjoy solitude, I've never been lonely.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Rei]

Such a person would be terrible trapped inside a spacecraft - and later, habitat - with a bunch of other people that they have no possibility to escape.

They wouldn't even be allowed to go out walking alone - that would be too dangerous.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

I think the best candidate for this type of mission would be dead, just strap some robotic exoskeleton on them!

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[BarbaraHudson]

A dead person - because that's what they'll end up with anyway. Zombies of Mars!

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[PinkyGigglebrain]

while you have an excellent point about a submariner there is one very important thing that you, and a lot of other people overlook. The simple fact that someone in a sub, or even an isolation chamber, knows that fresh air and home are only a short distance away, a few hundred feet up or a hundred miles thataway. If something goes wrong in a simulation you can always just open the door.

The people who go to Mars are going to have to face a completely new condition, that of being totally alone in an environment so hostile it will kill you in seconds. I don't think we yet know how to test for a personality type that can handle that, we can make educated guesses but until someone actually goes to Mars we won't know for sure if the people we send have "the Right Stuff"

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[ThorGod]

It's going to be hard. They're going to have to tie a lot of desire to survive and knowledge in with a general lack of need for other human contact.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[swb]

You have to get out of the submarine first before you get all that fresh air. You can't just open the door a few hundred feet below the surface.

And even if you get to the surface without suffering from the bends or drowning, you're now facing water temperatures of what -- 70F if you're lucky, and if you're not, much less than that. The same hypothermia that will kill you in space will kill you nearly as fast in the water.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

someone in a sub, or even an isolation chamber, knows that fresh air and home are only a short distance away, a few hundred feet up or a hundred miles thataway. If something goes wrong in a simulation you can always just open the door.

The people who go to Mars are going to have to face a completely new condition, that of being totally alone in an environment so hostile it will kill you in seconds. I don't think we yet know how to test for a personality type that can handle that,

Exactly right. How do you find someone who has the physical attributes, and skills that you want AND is OK with the fact that they are going to be committing suicide.

The first people who go to Mars will die trying to land (NASA has a dirty little secret that they don't want to talk about -- landing people safely on Mars is hard and they still don't know how to do it). Anyone who survives the landing will die of starvation, radiation poisoning, or any number of other problems.

These problems will eventually be solved, but first you have to find people who are nearly superhuman and who don't mind killing themself in the process.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[bondsbw]

This may be why we need humans to go back to the moon first with plans for a long-term habitat. It largely has the same dangers, but there might be at least a chance of implementing an emergency rescue mission if something goes wrong. (It would still be harder than a rescue mission from the ISS but not nearly as difficult as from Mars.)

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[TWX]

Those are my thoughts too. Hell, it would be possible with a Lunar base to have both an Earth-based rescue vehicle on standby, waiting to be fueled similar to how ICBMs were/are kept on standby, and given the proximity and the Moon and the relatively small amount of fuel needed to reach it compared to Mars, it would probably be feasible to place emergency escape vehicles and fueling equipment on the Moon so that a lunar base could be evacuated quickly.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[bmimatt]

I've seen documentary called 'The Martian' - they're sending Matt Damon.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

You need to look up the definition of oxymoron

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm tipping the lack of air will get you firs tin space

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

It's probably going to be an exceedingly intelligent, physically fit, mentally well-adjusted white man

You know like 90%+ of the astronauts they've ever picked.

You might want to update those numbers bro.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[ewibble]

I don't think it will be that hard, people climb mountains with an extremely high rate of death:

the Annapurna peaks are among the world's most dangerous mountains to climb, although in more recent history, using figures from only 1990 and after, Kangchenjunga has a higher fatality rate. By March 2012, there had been 191 summit ascents of Annapurna I, and 61 climbing fatalities on the mountain.

That is a 31% chance of death. These people must have been extremely fit (or just stupid I suppose). Being the first person on Mars would make you extremely famous, how many people know anyone has climbed Annapurna. 4,227 people applied for mars one, that was some company that has no track record of sending anyone into space. If NASA asked for applicants I am sure it would be orders of magnitude more.

There are 7 billion people in the world if need say 40 then you only need 0.00000057% of people to meet the requirements.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

It's probably going to be an exceedingly intelligent, physically fit, mentally well-adjusted white man

I've been suggesting climbing Sherpas for a while, but people don't seem to realize I'm serious.
- They're preselected for requiring less oxygen than your average European, reducing the mass of the required life support systems
- They tend to be smaller than Americans of European descent, reducing the amount of supplies required
- Used to dealing with cold, hostile environments
- Probably plenty of smart ones available (assuming they're crazy enough to go to Mars).

If you start with people who think living at 18,000 feet is normal, you get an immediate savings on mission resources or large margin of safety for the same resources.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[rtb61]

More logically a Moon Base, say a primarily a galactic and solar system observatory would also provide the best training environment and be part of the selection process for missions further afield. So serve a year or two on the moon before you can get selected for missions further afield to say Mars, the asteroid fields, various moons around the place and the first to reach a planet around another star (possibly by that stage we would have quite the burgeoning metropolis on the moon, the ultimate global higher education facility). Likely salary on the moon, zero (your individual contribution and a demonstration of a real commitment, some sort of quite supportive and comprehensive pension plan though).

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[bitingduck]

That is a 31% chance of death. These people must have been extremely fit (or just stupid I suppose).

That's a misinterpretation of the numbers. For every ~190 who summit, ~60 die would be a ~24% (60/250) chance of death if everybody who attempted to summit either summitted or died trying (and you count people who die on the way down as died and not summitted). Many more people attempt to climb the various 10,000 m peaks and turn around without either summitting or dying. You need to compare the number who die to the total number who try, not the numbers who succeed. You'll still probably see something in the 5% range, which isn't that much higher than launch vehicle failure rates.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

After "a year or two on the moon" a persons bones would be so weak that they couldn't come back to earth, much less deal with the force of a launch.

Low gravity makes for lower bone mass.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[frovingslosh]

I'm thinking just the opposite. It should be Liberals, Hillary Supporters and Telephone Handset Sanitizers. However, maybe you were being sarcastic and actually agree with me.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[donaldm]

Basally we as a potential space faring species have to crawl before we walk much less run. Our Moon is a destination where we can learn to crawl in relative safety, Unfortunately the Moon is is not romantic enough in the eyes of the media or our politicians where Mars is, so basically we are learning to run before we have a chance to learn to crawl, what can possibly go wrong?

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

Mars needs women.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Antique Geekmeister]

> exceedingly intelligent, physically fit, mentally well-adjusted white man

The "white man" comes from passing all the training courses. However, they're also going to need to be _small_. Any extra hight adds up to many thousands if not millions of dollars in oxygen consumption, foodl consumption, and the fuel and resources to support them over the course of a many year mission. They'll also probably be male because it's much easier to put a simply condom based catheter on a man for the plumbing in a space suit.

Re: Gonna go out on a limb here

[bill_mcgonigle]

>NASA has a dirty little secret that they don't want to talk about -- landing people safely on Mars is hard and they still don't know how to do it

I remember President Bush talking in '89 about how NASA woud be landing astronauts on Mars c. 2011. NASA is inept, like all the other agencies.

Meanwhile, Musk is working on robots to turn Mars soil into concrete landing pads so the construction workers can start moving in on the VTOL rockets.

Construction workers who will probably be women operating robots. Hrm, Musk hasn't announced the mecha company yet.

Re: Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

Most of the /.rs are white males.

Re: Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

The pressure alone would kill you if you opened the door, assuming you even could open the door.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[rmdingler]

You are truly alone in the instant an emergency occurs, whether in a submarine leagues beneath the sea's surface, or millions of miles away on extraterrestrial soil.

The difference is clearly the position you're in after you are crafty & resourceful enough to survive the life-threatening event.

You are either waiting for the Coast Guard or wondering if it's really possible to grow vegetables on another planet.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[rmdingler]

You're correct, of course...but we're judging life in space based on a infinitely small sample.

There will be bone loss, discomfort, and unpleasant adaptation. There will be deaths. People will sacrifice so we learn, but some will do better than others and pass those genes onto children who can do even better than that.

If we do not begin to spread human life off planet, this eggs in one basket policy is going to backfire.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[just another AC]

Many more people attempt to climb the various 10,000 m peaks

Doubt anyone is climbing those peaks - they don't exist. Everest is 8,848m. Doubtful anyone would get to 10k even if a peak did exist given how risky it is being above 8k and that wouldn't even be the last camp for a 10k peak.

Many people attempt to climb the 7,000/+m peaks though.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Krishnoid]

They should also be good at math.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[jandersen]

I'm betting that those that are good for the Navy's Submarine Service would also have a good chance. Being locked in one metal tube for months on-end versus being locked in another metal tube for months on-end, plus having an elevated amount of responsibility and the ever-present risk that an otherwise-small problem having drastic consequences.

The problem about having gone through military training is that it focuses so strongly on rigid discipline. Discipline is no doubt vitally important in any sort of army, but the downside is that it tends to be a sort of canned pattern of behaviour that you are supposed to follow unthinkingly, and what you need in an emergency, where external help is impossible, is probably a good deal of ability to improvise and not follow discipline, unless it makes good sense. Also, lonelyness is perhaps not so much an issue as being crammed in with the same, small group all the time - maybe people from the high arctic (inuit, nenets,...) have better skills than most for coping with that.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

while you have an excellent point about a submariner there is one very important thing that you, and a lot of other people overlook. The simple fact that someone in a sub, or even an isolation chamber, knows that fresh air and home are only a short distance away, a few hundred feet up or a hundred miles thataway. If something goes wrong in a simulation you can always just open the door.

Of course! If something goes wrong in a sub, you just need to open the door. I wonder why anyone never thought of this?

The people who go to Mars are going to have to face a completely new condition, that of being totally alone in an environment so hostile it will kill you in seconds. I don't think we yet know how to test for a personality type that can handle that, we can make educated guesses but until someone actually goes to Mars we won't know for sure if the people we send have "the Right Stuff"

Yes, if only we had any actual astronauts in actual spacecrafts... until it ever happens, there's absolutely no way to know for sure.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey I'm all for sending Kanye West there. Immediately.

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes, well there's where you're wrong. NASA is no longer interested in space exploration, but in promoting 'racial equality' at every turn. The new astronauts will be the 'rainbow nation' of races, under qualified Africans, etc.
We can't have those damn white people thinking they can go to another planet without non-whites accompanying them...

In case you're an idiot, you may have noticed that EVERY television programme and film made nowadays in white countries has to have it's official percentage of non-white faces, so that no white people even think about having an all white country.

An all white country! The horror!

Re: Gonna go out on a limb here

[Coren22]

You think that the lack of succeeding at that goal is that Nasa is inept? You do understand that the only thing holding back our space exploration is how extraordinarily tiny and unreliable Nasa's budget is, don't you?

Re:Gonna go out on a limb here

[Anonymous Coward]

That is a very BAD OPTION. Make them medium-low intelligence, with known physical issues and socially misadapted. THAT IS THE CORRECT TYPE YOU NEED. You do not want to send into experimental exploration your scarce resource best Human types! Believe it, EXCEEDINGLY intelligent you will not find them: they simply will REFUSE. That s intelligent. Known physical issues means your med tech will be planned from the outset and REAL, which is what people expect from this endeavours. And you do not want a true social being or it will be turned into a party! While it gets annoyed with the continued company... If you have to spend a few years in a cramped space where claiming personal space is an issue and irregardless you ll have your own tasks to be performed, you do need a socially misadapted person. I am sure some REAL psychologists and psychiatrists will understand my point and will explain it down to mechanical satisfaction.

Obviously

[Anonymous Coward]

Matt Damon

Isn't it obvious?

[mykepredko]

Somebody who loves potatoes!

Re:Isn't it obvious?

[esperto]

I think we are witnessing a new slashdot meme come to life

Re:Isn't it obvious?

[Bill.Dorland]

Well, wouldn't that be Mr. Potatohead? Or Mrs. Potatohead, of course. And their Tater Tots.

let me save you some time.

[nimbius]

1. Donald Trump: BRING HIM HOME.
2. Martin Schkreli: are we entirely sure martial air is toxic? this is for science damn you.
3. Justin Bieber: yes...but...can we sing in martian atmosphere...thats the real question.

Re:let me save you some time.

[Noah Haders]

Dayam I was gonna pose DJT but someone beat me to it.

Re:let me save you some time.

[Anonymous Coward]

"martial" air? I get it that Mars was the god of war but come on!

Re:let me save you some time.

[Anonymous Coward]

Let's not be partisan. I'd be more than happy to send Hillary AND Trump to Mars.

Re:let me save you some time.

[Anonymous Coward]

We want to visit mars, not declare war on the martians.

Re:let me save you some time.

[Anonymous Coward]

Let's meke it a competition between them!

Whichever one gets first to Mars becomes Emperor for Live

Re:let me save you some time.

[Anonymous Coward]

If we send any of them into space, we'll soon know if there are any aliens out there as they'll sure as hell send them back.

Make sure to ask the important questions!

[scunc]

Question 1: Are you physically fit?
Question 2: Are you an expert in your field?
Question 3: Do you like potatoes?

---
That's one small potato for (a) man ...

Re:Make sure to ask the important questions!

[k6mfw]

Question 4: Are you willing to always train for a mission that will always be 20 years into the future?

Re:Make sure to ask the important questions!

[UnknownSoldier]

> Question 1: Are you physically fit?

Whelp, that rules out 99% of /. :-/

. /me ducks :)

Re:Make sure to ask the important questions!

[Anonymous Coward]

. /me ducks :)

Don't get yourself winded.

The profile

[Anonymous Coward]

The first crew to set forth to Mars are likely in Middle School or High School, ...

Well, it's not gonna be me. I've been out of middle school for decades. But so they really think 11-13 years olds are going to be well suited for Mars? They're going for from cliques, they'll bully one another, they're gonna worry about dating....I don't think NASA really thought through the idea of sending Middle School students to Mars.

Re:The profile

[Thud457]

BRB...
submitting treatment for "Lord of the Flies" on Mars.

Re:The profile

[Punko]

FFS I guess you didn't actually understand what was written. The first crew, when the project leaves in about 20 years, will be made up of folks that are currently in middle school or high school. No agency will be sending minors. Miners possibly, but not minors.

Re:The profile

[tnk1]

In all likelihood, you are responding to a joke. If you are experiencing some odd airflow over your head, that is the likely cause.

Re:The profile

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean those little shits that skateboard outside my house everyday won't be sent to Mars?!

Damn!

And WHOOSH!

Re:The profile

[Z00L00K]

Underground miners used to the dangers of a close compartment that can't be escaped.

Physical Standards ?

[Punko]

The article states that applicants should be "experts in their fields' and "in peak physical condition". We can all agree that they need to be technically competent in several technical areas, but I don't believe they need to be "experts". Also, while I can agree that the crew need to be in good shape, the important thing would be to ensure that the crew are in a physical condition best suited to minimize the chances of ill-health considering their environment. I do not believe that being of "peak physical condition" is necessarily required or desired.

Re:Physical Standards ?

[Anonymous Coward]

(a) Why not? NASA gets massive numbers of applicants, might as well pick the best.
(b) It is well known that people lose muscle and bone in low gravity situations... the better the condition a person starts with, the better chance they have.

someone light

[Stonefish]

Saving a few kilos on these missions is very important, I'd say someone under 50kg would be on the money. You might be able to go lower if they had no legs as legs are basically baggage on a space journey. Especially when NASA have been asked to do everything on the cheap.

well, if the "expert" designation is a requirement

[turkeydance]

then the astronaut has not been born as of yet.

Green Skinned and Short

[Crashmarik]

Large bulbous head, with antenna like growths optional but desired.

Re:Green Skinned and Short

[Z00L00K]

And an ability to live in a low pressure atmosphere.

Re:Green Skinned and Short

[Anonymous Coward]

like this? (Kelly Freas' martian)

Definitely a job for a southern redneck

[Anon-Admin]

Dont mine long hours alone.
They love things that go fast.
Could use a simulated Deer hunt for entertainment.
Can fix anything with duck tape and some wire.
Will eat just about anything.
There real good at growing stuff.

What more could you ask for?

Just need to outfit the ship to look like a pickup and the habitat to look like a Winnebago. Maybe Offer a million $ to the first one to shoot a deer on mars. :p

Re:Definitely a job for a southern redneck

[Anonymous Coward]

I have no idea what the fuck you are trying to spell.

Re: Definitely a job for a southern redneck

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously dipshit... Spell checkers are built into every browser now. How the fuck are you so fucking dumb?

Re:Definitely a job for a southern redneck

[Anonymous Coward]

You guys don't get it, the spelling is perfect for the demographics they are seeking.

Re:Definitely a job for a southern redneck

[Anonymous Coward]

Dont mine long hours alone.
They love things that go fast.
Could use a simulated Deer hunt for entertainment.
Can fix anything with duck tape and some wire.
Will eat just about anything.
There real good at growing stuff.

What more could you ask for?

Just need to outfit the ship to look like a pickup and the habitat to look like a Winnebago. Maybe Offer a million $ to the first one to shoot a deer on mars. :p

LONE STAR!!!!

Re:Definitely a job for a southern redneck

[amyreyna]

And don't forget, the most ideal will be don't need oxygen

Someone with no kids

[OakDragon]

'Cause Mars ain't no kind of place to raise your kids.

Re:Someone with no kids

[Antique Geekmeister]

You think you're kidding. I must now recommend the television show "Rocket City Rednecks" a bunch of good ol' boys including several NASA engineers who explored numerous engineering challenges. The "use a Winnebago to test recycling and living enclosed for a Mars mission" episode was splendid fun. The need for much more beer than expected for the water recycling was priceless, as was the "don't put the water recycler too close to the driver's seat" lesson.

The show was wonderful, and like Mythbusters explored very real science and engineering tasks in a "what can we find in the parts bin" fashion. the official website is http://channel.nationalgeograp... .

Best Suited

[godel_56]

Expendable.

Re:Best Suited

[Anonymous Coward]

Radio Voice: Earth calling Astro Rabbit Bugs Bunny, Astro Rabbit Bugs Bunny.

Bugs turns from the door to answer

Radio Voice: Come in, Bugs Bunny, are you reading me? Is everything go?

Bugs Bunny: Well, no, everything is not go. Everything is kinda stopped. I seem to have landed on some planet or other

Radio Voice: Excellent, Excellent, I read you loud and clear. Now then, you are to take this planet in the name of the earth.

Bugs Bunny: Just a minute. Are you out of your cotton-tail picking mind? This joint makes siberia look like Miami Beach. ANd anyway, how come you send a rabbit to do a man’s job, anyway?

Radio Voice (the speaker comes close to Bugs and yells): Because rabbits are expendable, thats why!

One of each kind, duh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Please don't be pothead, please don't be potheads, please don't be pothead. (I'm already the pothead of the crew)

It's pretty simple. really

[mark-t]

The people that are best suited to go to mars are those who either explicitly have a death wish or else those who are simply too naive to realize that going there at the technology that we have right now is suicide. Heck, do you know how many people died just trying to sail halfway around the world to the Americas from Europe only a few centuries ago? And that was on a planet with a hospitable atmosphere!

The moon, at least, has more merit as a place to go to in that, at least theoretically, we can reach it from Earth in less time than it would take people who might get stranded there to starve to death.

Re:It's pretty simple. really

[Anonymous Coward]

"at least theoretically" I think going and landing on the moon is not exactly theoretical. And any rescue operations to save people on the moon would require the ability to launch two missions to the moon. The first mission launches while the second launch sits on the pad prepped to handle rescue operations. You venture out into space at your own risks and those who do man these missions know and accept that risk willingly.

Re:It's pretty simple. really

[sims 2]

I really thought by now that we would have a permanent beacon strobe on the moon.

Wouldn't that be neat? During a new moon you would just see this flashing light blinking out NASA (SPACEX if budget cuts keep up) in morse code.

Why? why not?

Think about it you could go outside with your kids and point and say see that blinking light? We put that there.

We really ought to have something on the moon. A permanent base would be nice. The moon is much closer and is roughly the same distance away year around. With the added bonus that you can see the surface with ground based telescopes on earth.

Re:It's pretty simple. really

[Kjella]

The people that are best suited to go to mars are those who either explicitly have a death wish or else those who are simply too naive to realize that going there at the technology that we have right now is suicide. Heck, do you know how many people died just trying to sail halfway around the world to the Americas from Europe only a few centuries ago? And that was on a planet with a hospitable atmosphere!

We fairly reliably sent people to the moon with 1960s tech 6/7 times and saved Apollo 13, some 133/135 Shuttle missions were a success, we've operated a space station for 18 years, we got rovers on Mars operating over a decade... okay so space is not exactly like flying from London to New York yet, but we've certainly tamed it quite a bit. Sure, the mission is longer but most things that are critical happen during the launch/landing phase, we have a decade of on-site weather data and the Martian was a movie. And we're likely to have robots making a dry run testing the landing and establishing the habitat first, still considering the complexity I'd give it maybe 90-95% chance of success.

Certainly nothing to sneeze at but nine of out ten times you get an experience only one in a billion will have and the tenth time, well you'd likely be really dead really quick. To be honest, the risk of being in a parachuting or mountain climbing accident and ending up as a cripple is scarier than becoming a fireball, besides I'm not an adrenaline junkie. Going to Mars though, I'd sign up for that. Of course it helps that I don't have any commitments, I wouldn't do it if I had a wife and kids but there's plenty of us around. And shit, 70-75 years ago tens of millions were dying for war. Even if the mission is a wipe, that's like ten deaths for exploration and science? The horror.

It is so obvious!

[Anonymous Coward]

We should send all our leaders, political, religious, fanatical, even our most wealthy CEO's and venture capitalists.
and then, after the above have all arrived safely, we should send all the criminaly insane we have stuck in the prisons and mental asylums, including their doctors.
Then we should send all the hollywood actors, producers, etc, anything in the entertainment and marketing sector.
Also we should have interviews for anyone who has interests in working in these sectors, and send them over ASAP.

The first party can build our new society for survival of the human farce.
the second can run rampant to upset the perfect utopian balance the first group set up.
the third group is there to document it all so those on earth can enjoy the entertainment only the third group can deliver, using the best and worst humanity has to offer.
the fourth group, will be sent over to replenish the fine people already over there, on mars, and the interviews will also create an underground movement, born out of those that skipped out on the rebirth of mankind on mars, creating a renewal of the first, second, and third group on earth.

face it.
we're doomed. earth will go on, and our deity's will switch over to a new channel for their entertainment.

have a nice day!
[wdw]

Lord of the Rings -- IN SPAAAAACCCEEE!!

[Thud457]

So, Samwise Gamgee ?

Rockets

[slashping]

NASA should focus on rockets, not people. Let's first see a rocket that can make it to Mars surface, pick up a ton of rocks, and fly back to Earth. When you've shown you can do that, then you can start looking for people and doing silly tests.

Re:Rockets

[Xylantiel]

Not sure why this is modded funny... Not on rockets, but on spacecraft. Lets demonstrate that we can put a person outside the van Allen belts in sufficient centrifugally generated gravity that after a couple of years they will still be not dead and able to walk in gravity. During that we can also demonstrate that we can get stuff back from Mars. After all that engineering is done, then we can worry about the state of mind of a person going to Mars and back.

The first crew to set forth to Mars...

[PvtVoid]

...likely hasn't even been born yet, because we're not going any time soon. NASA "plan" is a load of vapor.

That's an amazing coincidence!

[tlambert]

That's an amazing coincidence!

I'm currently studying what kind of organization is qualified to study what sort of person is best suited for Mars, and I've already disqualified NASA, since they had no real plans to *actually* go there, until they were shamed into it by a private company.

Re:That's an amazing coincidence!

[Anonymous Coward]

Ha! Last week on slashdot.... "Congressional Testimony Says NASA Has No Plan For the Journey To Mars"

Re:That's an amazing coincidence!

[Anonymous Coward]

I am the CEO of one such organization but unfortunately our current projections indicate it maybe several life cycles of the universe before we are technically capable of such an endeavor. Mainly because there aren't any other employees and we have zero capital.

Re:That's an amazing coincidence!

[currently_awake]

Oh they have actual plans, and if they had the money they could probably make it work too. Lets hope the Chinese hackers can manage to convince the upper brass to actually execute the plan after they steal the technology to make it happen.

A Jihadist?

[zenlessyank]

Since it is a death trip, it would seem these guys are the best suited.

The shortlist

[wonkey_monkey]

Matt Damon
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Taylor Kitsch

Re:The shortlist

[PvtVoid]

Or you could use O.J. Simpson and fake it.

Re:The shortlist

[sociocapitalist]

Matt Damon
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Taylor Kitsch

Send Trump and let him build a wall around it.

Matt Damon

[Anonymous Coward]

They shall send Matt Damon, as he's already demonstrated he can handle it. :P

Already found him

[Lost Penguin]

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/903808337/dr-manhattan_400x400.jpg

Sincerely

[Anonymous Coward]

I pray everyday to wake up from a induced freezing state somewhere in a planet at Andromeda galaxy. (with all my zz top's mp3 files, because music really sucked thousands of years ago over there).

Aiming high as usual

[transami]

How about you make it so any reasonable average person could go? As in, stop f'ing around and make space *accessible*.

Re:Aiming high as usual

[Anonymous Coward]

These are not really reasonable average conditions...

Re:Aiming high as usual

[Anonymous Coward]

Please describe how a vacuum with nothing in it could ever be "accessible" for the average person? The Earth's atmosphere has everything in it and yet I'd bet you are not even a weekend Cessna pilot... So why would you think space is important?

BOD

[Anonymous Coward]

B = Better
O = Off
D = Dead

If NASA is to "Johns'n" to send something to Mars send corpses! They don't need air, water, food, clothing and they have all the time to kill.

Ha ha

19900 ways

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm hoping someone at NASA has read their Heinlein juvies

Oh man....

[TheCarp]

Have I got some suggestions for them! Shit, do they want to stop at sorts of person? I can start making nominations right now. The sooner the departure the better.

Oxymoronic

[Anonymous Coward]

"reasonable average person"?

Simple!

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone who thinks this:
http://www.mondolithic.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Scientific-American-Mining-Black-Holes-Space-Elevator.jpg

is just as plausible as indoor plumbing and believes that it will be inevitable, because computers got better.

the obvious solution

[slashmydots]

100% Dungeons and Dragons players. The 30 days or whatever would fly by if they run a lvl 1-30 campaign. They'd probably actually be requesting an orbit around Mars while they finish the level 28 quest line when they get there. Time really does fly when you're playing tabletop D&D.

Re:the obvious solution

[Actually, I do RTFA]

100% Dungeons and Dragons players. The 30 days or whatever would fly by if they run a lvl 1-30 campaign.

I should hope whomever we send has the good sense not to play 4e.

I know

[X10]

They should go for an elderly person (nothing to lose), with an Msc in astrophysics, with great tech skills.

Pick me!

[Anonymous Coward]

Psychologically speaking all I need is an emulator with a USB key full of old console games, and a metric ton of porn.

obvious answer

[Anonymous Coward]

My vote is Matt Damon

Away from this planet?

[Anonymous Coward]

Pffah! Just send me.
And don't expect me to come back.

a martian.

[Anonymous Coward]

my Invoice is in the post.

Botanist

[whipslash]

Botanist

They better don't try to first post on slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

TEST FROM MARS

There is an entire planet filled with humans who have that's much closer to slashdot's servers than mars.

"...who can cope with stress and boredum"

[PJ6]

Please stop linking to sites that can't even use correct spelling in their titles.

Re:"...who can cope with stress and boredum"

[Anonymous Coward]

If you are offended by misspellings by editors, why are you on Slashdot?

Re:well, if the "expert" designation is a requirem

[Streetlight]

Just what I was thinking. Take a baby (babies?) that's a total orphan and have it grow up as if it were born on Mars, then send the adult to to Mars. After all, the new Martian will not be returning back to earth ever.

TFA doesn't need the overstatement

[Dr. Spork]

Hey, dummies, this will most definitely not be "the longest, most hazardous voyage in history". Three years is a long time, but explorers have often set out on voyages that take longer. Have you maybe heard of Charles Darwin and The Beagle? That voyage took almost five years, and it still isn't a record. And it's straight up laughable to say that it's the most hazardous voyage in history. NASA will never run it if the chance of death is over 10%. By historical standards, I'd call that a voyage of moderate hazard.

And then there's this:

...[T]he first people to go to Mars will be isolated as no human beings have been before. For a long period, 20 minutes must pass for messages to go to and from Earth.

Let's grant that the crew will set the record for being really far from other people, but as the article observed, that's not sufficient for them to be "isolated". Can they then seriously suggest that a 20 minute video communication delay is some unprecedented record of human isolation? Do they not realize that humans didn't always have smartphones?

They don't need to add all this hyperbolic shit to their article. Then again, maybe they do, because it doesn't really say anything specific and non-obvious except that Johns Hopkins got money to study this, and that their test group will consist of surgeons.

Short!

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone under 4'5" or so, less food and oxygen?

Obviously

[penguinoid]

Men.

Those traits are not a given, pick me.

[Anonymous Coward]

Why I'd be a good fit?
* I'm an introvert with social anxiety. I prefer to be alone and won't have any problems with no more human contact outside the mission or at all.
* I've attempted suicide and survived. I know how to handle deep depression and can pull myself out of it without using medication. Despite popular option, just because I was depressed once doesn't meaning I'm going to go crazy. I think someone who hasn't had the experience is at a much higher risk of having a breakdown and not being able to control themselves afterwards.
* My circadian rhythms is fucked up on Earth and would match better with Mars. In any event, the screwed up light/dark cycles on a space ship won't bother me and I have experience performing with extreme sleep deprivation.
* I was brought up Christan and as an adult I don't believe. During the trip I won't suddenly find God and go crazy.
* I'm smart enough and detailed enough to learn the material and do the work, even if extremely tedious. I won't learn it for the slim chance of getting into space, but I would spend all my time learning it if I was guaranteed a trip to another planet.
* I'm not addicted to my smart phone. I can concentrate on something longer than 15 minutes.
* My family won't sue when the spaceship blows up.
* I don't have any kids nor spouses.
* You don't have to pay me.
* Lots of single field experts means the mission fails if more than two people die. Use me as the wildcard to keep everything running well enough.
* I won't create drama with the crew.
* If there's a female crew member, I have enough self-control to not fuck her even if she can't fight back even when naked, unless we're doing an experiment on fucking.
* If there's a male crew member, I have enough self-control to not fuck him even if he can't fight back even when naked, unless we're going an experiment on fucking.
* I don't care if all my water and food is recycled waste.
* I'm not very hairy so I'd be cleaner than a lot of other people; less dust and FOD creation.
* I'm O-negative and can donate blood to other members of the crew.
* I can have excellent pain suppression through self-hypnosis.

Already found

[Anonymous Coward]

Matt Damon.
C'mon, how hard was that?

No privacy

[manu0601]

Crew will have no privacy on flight. It seems millennials posting everything about them on social networks will be the perfect fit.

Martians are best suited for Mars!

[TimSSG]

And, Lunatics are best suited for the Moon AKA Luna. Tim S.

Re:Martians are best suited for Mars!

[Anonymous Coward]

'Martians Go Home!'

Test Study

[blackfeltfedora]

The submarine force has been conducting extended testing on the sort of person who can perform under these conditions for most of the past 100+ years.

Trump

[CaptainDork]

would do.

Not In A Million Lightyears

[ButchDeLoria]

Come on, fat, white neckbeard...

Already?

[tsa]

I think they started at least thirty years too late.

Re:affirmative action!!!!

[plopez]

Women only and a sperm bank

I have never been to...

[zawarski]

MAAAAASSSSS!

Kill 2 birds with one stone

[Anonymous Coward]

Send Justin 'douche' Trudeau and: Donald Trump.

As shown by numerous Antarctic winterovers

[dargaud]

You have to be crazy enough to want to do a winterover (or a Mars mission).
But you also have to be sane enough to spend over a year in a tin can with a bunch of people you may not like all that much, with nothing much to do, sure death waiting outside and no early exit. I speak from experience.

Who else?

[NewYork]

Hillary Clinton

send matt damon, but NO potatoes.

[Anonymous Coward]

please!

Tautology solution : a marriage clique

[Anonymous Coward]

The list of obligations and rights the mars astronauts will have to establish between each others makes me think that the crew will have to contract a plural marriage, a marriage clique : an hetero, homo, polygyny and polyandry marriage.

Because the mars spaceship will be smaller than the space station, the voyage will be longer than 18 months and each astronaut will freely engage into the contract.
- No privacy
- Unconditionnal help
- In the same boat
- Singles still in high school actually, Y generation, not homophobic