Mars One says 80,000 have applied for one-way mission to red planet

The colony as it is expected to look in 2015 - with four astronauts arriving every two years on the one-way mission. [dailymail.co.uk]

Adam Gabbatt in New York:
Almost 80,000 people have applied to take part in a one-way mission to Mars, each of them completing a rigorous application that stresses the need for a "Can Do!" attitude, asks individuals about their sense of humour and requires the submission of an application fee that can be as much as $75.
Mars One, the Dutch company behind the proposed mission, says it has received applications from more than 120 countries. It also says that the role of Mars explorer/guinea pig is "the most desired job in history". More than 17,000 of the applicants are from the US – the most of any country so far.
"These numbers put us right on track for our goal of half a million applicants," said the founder of Mars One, Bas Lansdorp. "Mars One is a mission representing all humanity and its true spirit will be justified only if people from the entire world are represented. I'm proud that this is exactly what we see happening."
According to the company's chief medical officer, Norbert Kraft, Mars One is eschewing the usual astronaut candidates – scientists and pilots – in favour of YouTube fanatics and internet people, "because what we are looking for is not restricted to a particular background."
All applicants have to do is pay the application fee, which ranges from $5 to $75 – in the US, it is $38 – and then submit a video in which they answer three questions. The specific queries chosen by Mars One to select four people to represent the expansion of the human race are:... Read here...