Saskatoon man applies for mission to Mars

SASKATOON – A Saskatoon man is hoping to make his dream of travelling into space a reality by applying to go on a mission to Mars.

Justin Semenoff has a passion for space that isn’t found every day.

“What an amazing accomplishment it would be to have the first person on another planet,” he said.

The 34-year-old father has applied for the dutch-led Mars One Project. If he were accepted, he’d be sent to the Red Planet.

But, the mission clearly states that those sent to Mars will never return to earth.

Semenoff has a 13-year-old son and says the hardest part would be leaving his family behind.

“I’ve been asked a few times ‘how can you leave your son? He’s just a kid, well, this is a decade in the future. If I was selected, we’d have time to prep for that.”

The Mars One Foundation is a not-for-profit organization that plans to send 24 astronauts to Mars, establishing a permanent human settlement in 2023.

“First, it’s getting through the selection process, and actually being picked, because it’s a big ‘what if’. There’s going to be close to 100,000 people,” said Semenoff.

Canadian Forces spokesperson Fraser Logan says Semenoff’s training as an army combat engineer would serve him well.

“Nobody in the Canadian Forces will just kind of blindly walk into something, we do all the mental calculations. Asking someone to do something in the time allotted that might seem impossible, but after months of training, it is possible,” said Logan.

University of Saskatchewan Department of Physics Dr. Michael Bradley says NASA and other space organizations have faced big cutbacks. The plan is to fund this project through donations.

“These innovative ways to fund that kind of exploration are interesting. I think it’s kind of a neat idea, whether it would work or not, at that funding level, I don’t know.”

“You can imagine this mission sort of being at least ten times harder than any of the things we’re seeing right now, with Space X, refuelling the space station.”

Semenoff will find out if he makes it to the first round of the selection process this fall.