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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Announcement: I have applied to be an astronaut in the Mars One program

Paul Leeming said:
Hi all, it gives me great pleasure to finally be able to publicly announce that I have submitted an application to become an astronaut in the Mars One program, with the objective of being one of the first pioneers to leave Earth and settle permanently on the red planet.

No doubt the first reaction for many of you is to have a good laugh, but I can assure you that this is absolutely serious.

I first learned of the program, like many of you, around six months ago. Since then it has preoccupied my thinking in a way I haven't been preoccupied since my childhood, when I first watched Star Wars and decided I wanted to go into space.

As I grew up, studied astronomy, and eventually gained my pilot wings, I got ever closer, but never quite thought I would get the chance to apply for such an ambitious program. And make no mistake, this program is probably THE most ambitious goal ever undertaken by mankind. The odds of failure are high. But to have a chance, even if very small indeed, of really making the next great leap forward as a species? There is NOTHING I would not give for that opportunity....

To be a pioneer for all of us, and be the first human being to set foot on another planet. To have the chance to redefine who we are as a species. To unite us in a way that is only possible when we realise that our potential truly is limitless, if only we dare to dream big enough.

Those of you who know me well will immediately understand that I am uniquely qualified to undertake such a venture, but for those of you who only know me tangentially, I can tell you that I have been trained in two armed services for nearly a decade (including training as an Air Force pilot), I have been an airline pilot in one of the most hostile flying environments on Earth (Papua New Guinea), I have run my own company for years and been a film director, writer and cinematographer among other things.

I am also passionate about making the world a better place, and see this as an opportunity to really affect a universal change in the way we see ourselves in the cosmos.

I will post a lot more in the coming months to do with the program, but what I need most of all right now is for you to help get me to the starting line of the final 40 applicants, by watching and rating my application video linked below. I would really appreciate five star ratings of course, but that is ultimately down to how you see my video among those of the other applicants.

The other thing I really need is for you to share my application profile (or this message or my fan page) with others, so they too can rate and understand why it is that I am entering into this adventure.

For now I will just say thank you for reading, and note that any and all comments are most welcome, be they here or on the fan page below (which I hope you will Like and Share if you, well, like it!)

Here's to the next step....

Cheers,

Paul :)

Application Video (please watch, rate it and share): http://applicants.mars-one.com/profile/42c6f41d-194e-4a92-9d84-a790eea8f878

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PaulLeemingMarsOne
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AAAAAANNNNNNDDDDD STAY OUT!

heh heh heh
 
Way cool! Wish you the best of luck, what a journey. I wish I could do something like that but I guess I will have to live vicariously through you and the others boldly going on such a fascinating adventure.

Good luck!
 
Leo Ticheli said:
This is never going to happen; the reasons why are too obvious to merit discussion, but Mars One does promise to bring great wealth to the promoters.

More importantly, were it to actually happen, and you did not perish on the way, you would be signing up to condemn yourself to live in solitary confinement, never to enjoy the essential pleasures of human life. You will never again meet a new friend over coffee, breathe in the smells and cacophony of a new country, sail a boat through emerald waters or feel the sun dry your skin after a swim in the ocean; you will never even take a simple walk on a blustery afternoon.

Quite likely you would die in agony with some malady easily remedied on Earth, or even more likely, by your own hand after the thrill of adventure gives way to the insufferable dullness, the inescapable sameness.

Surely you have friends; hopefully a lover, and the menu of adventures available here on Earth exceed, by far, our pitifully short life span, and are, I believe, more profound than could be experienced living in a tin can on a frozen rock.

I suggest you just buy the tee shirt and enjoy the daydream; we need you alive and healthy to shoot and contribute to RedUser!

Good shooting and best regards,
Leo
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Mankind has only come as far as it has, because some men look to the stars.
 
I wish you ALL THE BEST Paul!!!
 
Make sure you take RED camera to the RED planet.

Graeme
 
Paul Leeming said:
No doubt the first reaction for many of you is to have a good laugh
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Quite the contrary, Paul. I applaud your decision. The best of luck with the application!
 
Thanks for all the comments and feedback :)

I have posted the first of what I intend to be several larger posts on the reasons for going - Why I don't see it as a death sentence.

https://www.facebook.com/PaulLeemingMarsOne

Thanks again and if you haven't already, please watch my application video and rate it 5 stars to help me on my way!

You can rest assured that should I make it to the final 40 candidates, I'll be plugging the Red camera as the perfect device to take to film the Red planet! :D

Rental prices will be out of this world though!!! ;)

Cheers from Tokyo,

Paul :)
 
Inventive marketing idea, indeed. I guess the point here is to get the necessary amount to finance it. I have my doubts other than public funding -- by the usual suspects (NASA, Roskosmos, ESA, etc) may be able to guarantee such extensive involvement in a nonprofit initiative of that kind ;) or it may even be possible to do it without their immersive engagement, it looks just plain odd :P

Paul, in any case you've already got my 5-stars qualification for sure!

Cheers,

E. :-)
 
I wish you the best of luck Paul. But am I the only one who finds it strange that the first thing you see on a website about a multibillion dollar exploration mission is advertising tiles and links to merchandise?
 
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Daniel, the whole idea behind Mars One is to fund the mission via private investment as opposed to government funding. I think the most challenging part of this is going to be raising the funds needed to do it, but as I see it the key is to build it up to the point where the first rover or module makes its launch window. If this happens I think funding the rest will be much easier. If they miss the window, then it will likely mean the end of the program.

It's definitely a different way to do it, but then again, Apple for example earns a hundred times the amount of money needed to do this in just one year, so it's not like it's pie in the sky numbers....

Cheers for all the support and five star ratings all!

Paul :)
 
Paul Leeming said:
Daniel, the whole idea behind Mars One is to fund the mission via private investment as opposed to government funding. I think the most challenging part of this is going to be raising the funds needed to do it, but as I see it the key is to build it up to the point where the first rover or module makes its launch window. If this happens I think funding the rest will be much easier. If they miss the window, then it will likely mean the end of the program.

It's definitely a different way to do it, but then again, Apple for example earns a hundred times the amount of money needed to do this in just one year, so it's not like it's pie in the sky numbers....

Cheers for all the support and five star ratings all!

Paul :)
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Paul,

The problem is also political... Even if the private financing can be theoretically possible, can anyone expect the big guys will accept the fact as simple as that? ;)

I'm sorry to pee on the parade, but I simply don't think they would even ever dream to be out of such party... with or without Outer Space Treaty :X

E. :-)


PS

God dreamed the man, the man created the lawyers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_law
 
I would be extremely happy if one or more governments helped back the project.

But the reality is that right now the United States has no means of their own to put a person in space, so they themselves are already dealing with companies like Space-X to ferry materials (and soon humans) to the ISS, for example. In the long term space exploration and colonisation belongs to private enterprise, in my opinion. Competition for limited resources will make this a reality in the future, even putting aside technology development etc.

But to me this is is more about our will to do this, all politics and lawyers aside. If we are truly incapable of looking beyond the petty state level squabbles and legal morass, then we aren't going to get very far as a species. We need to dream again, and keep dreaming the impossible, so that it is made possible. If it's a choice between being on the sidelines or being in the game, I'll take being in the game every time.

Cheers,

Paul :)
 
On a more disturbing note, it appears someone is trolling my Mars One application page and has downvoted me almost 200 times in the last twelve hours.

They are able to do this because it seems you can vote multiple times for a candidate (just close and reopen your browser, or possibly clear cookies etc).

Your votes that you were generous enough to give me have been largely negated by what seems like the work of one person.

Given this new information, I would really appreciate it if you could visit my page a few times, or as many times as you wish, and rate me at 5 stars to push my score back to where it was twelve hours ago (roughly 4.3).

http://applicants.mars-one.com/profile/42c6f41d-194e-4a92-9d84-a790eea8f878

Many thanks in advance :)

Cheers from Tokyo,

Paul :)
 
This is certainly not for me. Have you considered how long it would take to get new sensor upgrade sent to Mars? I would be seriously pissed to be even a couple of days behind the latest firmware update! This idea sucks. :)

And, if you can't check the goss on Reduser a few times a day...what is the point of living? :)

BTW, I gave you 5 stars :) Good luck with it, mate!
 
Paul Leeming said:
Daniel, the whole idea behind Mars One is to fund the mission via private investment as opposed to government funding. I think the most challenging part of this is going to be raising the funds needed to do it, but as I see it the key is to build it up to the point where the first rover or module makes its launch window. If this happens I think funding the rest will be much easier. If they miss the window, then it will likely mean the end of the program.
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I guess every cent counts.
 
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