TORONTO – This week the Internet has been abuzz with the announcement of the Mars 100, the people who have made the Mars One project’s shortlist for a one-way trip to the red planet.
But those who have signed up might want to consider the odds of getting there safely.
READ MORE: Reality Check: Is settling on Mars in the next 10 years a possibility?
Sure, NASA’s record of missions to Mars have been incredibly successful — lately. India’s Mars Orbiter Mission is also being heralded as an incredible success (they did it on a far smaller budget than NASA’s). But the success rate of missions is less than 50 per cent. You can find a detailed list here.
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One might argue that a human mission would have people who can fix problems on the spacecraft themselves rather than depend on command sent from Earth, and there’s a lot to say for that.
But it’s just something to think about.
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