Non-profit seeks 24 volunteers willing to die on Mars -- seriously!

A non-profit company called Mars One is now recruiting 24 astronauts to die on Mars. At least, that's the implication since the company says they have no plans to bring them back.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Mars One has opened video submissions for potential candidates and predicts they could get as many as a million volunteers. There is a $25 fee to apply, which the non-profit says is intended to weed out spammers and people who aren't serious.

You'll need to be serious. Those selected will be sent on a one-way, zero-fail mission to Mars, where it is unclear if they will ever return, assuming they make it there alive in the first place.

The company says they already have the technology needed to make the trip a reality and that it is also economically feasible.

They also say they already have 10,000 applications so far with 45,000 others on its mailing list.

Mars One plans to choose its 24 lucky(?) astronauts by July of 2015. Astronauts will spend the next seven years training and at least three months living in a simulated Mars colony.

Those astronauts will build and live in the first permanent Mars colony. How long they live will depend on a number of factors, however it is expected that they may likely see the end of their days on the Red Planet, unless the company changes its mind and develops a return plan for them.

You can watch the company's introduction film here.

Good luck, we guess!

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'