2 Filipinas, Candidates of One-Way Red Planet Journey
When mankind first sent its own species to space, science and technology debunked the idea that Earth confines the wisdom of men—the room for knowledge grew ever so extensively, drawing humans away from the context of ‘impossibility’.
In 2015, the Mars One Project, headed by Bas Lansdorp, announced that its selection committee had chosen 100 candidates who are one step nearer to the mission of establishing a permanent human colony in Mars starting 2024.
This US $6 billion project is under the supervision of 30 industry and scientific experts.
From 202,586 applicants, only 100 people (50 men and 50 women) were chosen as candidates for the red planet journey. The Mars One volunteers consist of people from different parts of the globe: 39 from the US, 31 from Europe, seven from Africa, 16 from Asia, and seven from Oceania.
Among 100 red-planet hopefuls are Filipinas, Minerva ‘Mimi’ Rañeses of Pasig City, and Jaymee Orillosa del Rosario who is currently in Southern California.
Minerva Rañeses
Minerva Rañeses describes herself as a very philosophical person who is willing to explore the vast fields of undiscovered knowledge “I am curious about a lot of things, my goal upon applying for Mars One is to seek knowledge,” says Rañeses, adding she likes to read and deliberate political issues on her own.
In an interview, Rañeses explains that the second round of the selection process required volunteers to answer five questions that shall test their mental status and capabilities. “In the final interview, there were five questions that we can say are ‘mental aptitude tests’, they gave us reviewers, but the last question is a some sort of a trick question,” shares Rañeses.
Minerva ‘Mimi’ Rañeses describes the Mars One project
One question that volunteers have to answer is a test of their determination and willingness:
“If in three years, the technology to bring humans back to Earth is already available, would you go back?”
Rañeses’ answer to this question is no. “We’ve been on Earth for thousands of years, and yet, there are still things here left undiscovered, I believe that Mars still has a lot of things left in store for us as well—three years is not enough” the candidate explained.
Today, Rañeses, who is now in law school, is still firm on her decision to leave Earth permanently. “Our family culture is different from other families, my dad and my brothers are seafarers, we used to be away from each other. My mother developed our family in such way that our financial, emotional, and mental condition is stable despite us being apart,” she bares
Jaymee Orillosa del Rosario
The venture to space has been Jaymee Orillosa del Rosario’s long-time dream, now in the field of science and space exploration, del Rosario is the CEO of her own company that distributes exotic alloys to aerospace since 2009.
In her Mars One profile, del Rosario describes herself as a “very loving and full of energy type of individual”. On her spare time, she joins marathons, and goes to school to further learn about business management, or advanced astronomy.
Image courtesy of FlipTV
The young CEO believes that she would be a great contribution to the project. “I can be a chameleon and adapt to different personalities, I believe that I will be a great asset to the team because of my experiences, and skill, I’ve been in very harsh environments, and traveled to different countries. I am also very resourceful,” del Rosario explains in her Mars One profile.
The Selection process
Below is Mars One’s selection process:
Round One: All candidates will submit their online applications containing the following: their general information, a motivation letter, a resume, and a one-minute video that shows the participant’s answers to Mars One selection committee’s questions.
Round Two: Candidates will be asked to provide medical clearances—Mars One’s Chief Medical Officer, Norbert Kraft will interview and scrutinize each candidate.
Round Three: Candidates will come together for group activities that will test their behavior towards other participants.
Round Four: Mars One candidates will be observed as they experience isolation; only 30 will remain and proceed to the Mars Settler Suitability interview.
For further information and announcements, you may check Mars One project’s official website here: https://www.mars-one.com/
Written by Jove Moya
