Meet the only Sinkie applicant to Mars colony

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Death of wife inspires Singapore man to apply for trip to Mars
inSing.com - 14 May 2013 2:43 PM | Updated 3:42 PM

Singaporean “Robinson” is inspired to live on Mars permanently after wife dies (Photo: Screen grab from Mars One)
A 53-year-old Singaporean man has responded to a mission by a private organisation to send a human being on a no-return trip to Mars.

The mission, named Mars One, aims to set up a permanent human colony on the red planet and is targeted to launch in 2023.

The profile of the Singaporean, who gave his name only as “Robinson”, can be seen on the Mars One website.

He said he was inspired to get a one-way ticket to Mars and live permanently there because his “beloved wife … passed away a year ago”.

He is one of 78,000 applicants from 120 countries who have sent in their applications to the website of the Dutch non-profit company.

He had to pay an application fee of US$46 (S$57) to submit his initial application.

The fee varies among countries, ranging from US$5 to US$73, depending on the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country.

A DREAM

"Space travel has always been my dream," Singaporean “Robinson” writes.

He adds that he is "very healthy” and “is still able to complete a full marathon within five hours".

Running, unicycling and working are some of his interests and he claims as his talent his ability to “mimic words spoken by people around this part of the region.”

By 2023, all his children will have grown up and he will be left alone, but he still hopes to live a meaningful life, which makes him the perfect candidate for Mars, he adds.

If successful, “Robinson” will be one of 50 to 100 candidates who are deemed “the most committed, creative, resilient and motivated applicants”.

He will undergo four rounds in a selection process that will come to an end in 2015.

By then, the number of candidates will be whittled down from 40 to 28.

SEVEN YEARS OF TRAINING

This final group will undergo seven years of training, after which a global audience will elect the final envoys of humanity to Mars.

Mars One has already generated more than 60,600 'likes' on Facebook.

Its introductory video on YouTube has been viewed more than 1.2 million times.

The website states that this decade-long undertaking will be funded by selling televised broadcasts of every aspect of the mission – from choosing the astronauts to their preparations, to their arrival on Mars to their lives on the red planet.

(Editor’s note: If anyone knows “Robinson”, tell him that inSing News would love to hear from him. Drop us an email at [email protected])




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