'Mars One' to send reality-TV to red planet

For those of us who are sick of cameras following around anyone in New Jersey with a drinking problem, an answer may be at hand! Last year, an audacious reality television show was pitched by Dutch Entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp that could change television forever.

The premise? Civilians will be selected to take a one way trip to Mars. That's right, Mars ... as in the planet.

The private spaceflight project, titled Mars One, plans to establish a permanent human colony on Mars by 2023, after a seven-month journey from earth. Teams of four would join the settlement every two years and the process would be filmed as a global reality-TV media event, which should provide most of the funding for the program. Sponsors and advertising will help as well and, since Mars One is a non-profit, they have also been accepting donations through their website, with over $84,000 coming in since April.

One might anticipate a disbelieving, even contemptuous, reaction from the public to a concept of this magnitude. However, as it turns out, almost 80,000 people have already signed up to try out for the show since the application process began one month ago, bringing literal meaning to the phrase "I don't want to live on this planet anymore."

-Virginia Fasulo