JACOB SOBOROFF: Hey, it's Jacob.
This week we made
out with strangers,
we found our long lost twin, and
we crushed things with a tank.
We also found that given the
opportunity, a lot of people
would leave earth
behind forever.
Would you take a one
way trip to Mars?
CARLY: No, no, don't
really want to go to Mars.
EARNEST: No.
ALI: No.
ALEX: Yeah, why?
JACOB SOBOROFF:
It's not just Alex.
More than 200,000 people
have applied for that one way
ticket.
We wanted to find out more.
CARLY: Mars One is a
civilian program dedicated
to sending the first
humans to colonize Mars,
which in my opinion,
is terrifying.
But there are thousands of
people who want to do it.
They're still about
a decade away,
but they're actively moving
forward with the project.
NARRATOR: They will be flying
to Mars in a transit habitat
with a lander attached to it.
DR. GERARD 'T HOOFT:
My first reaction
was, I think that anyone
who would be confronted
with such an idea,
this will never work.
Now look and listen
more closely.
This is really something
that can be achieved.
CARLY: They started with
an open application process
and got almost a quarter
of a million submissions.
It really makes you wonder
what kind of a person
would be willing
to leave everything
to go and live on Mars
ALEX: I'm glad you asked.
This type of guy.
They've narrowed the
field of applicants
down to around 1,000.
APPLICANT: My family of
course, when I told them,
they were a bit shocked.
So they had kind of
half-hearted would like,
wish me the best of luck.
Like, I want that to happen,
but at the same time,
I mostly don't.
ALEX: Only four
astronauts can be
trained for the initial trip,
which means a lot of people
aren't going to get their
chance, like this guy.
CARY: Honestly, it's
probably for the best.
Why on Earth would you
want to go to Mars?
ALEX: Why on Mars would
you want to go to Earth?
LINK: Today, we are making our
audition tapes to go to Mars.
RHETT: There's a lot
of bodily functions
that will be happening and
I will find ways to leverage
that into jokes that will
make the entire crew laugh.
LINK: Why am I the best
candidate for the trip?
ALEX: Sorry, Rhett and Link,
no preferential treatment.
CARY: Don't you have
somewhere to be?
ALEX: No, I don't.
CARY: OK, go have fun on Mars.
Good bye.
ALEX: [INAUDIBLE]
CARY: Bye.
EARNEST: So you've been
selected to go to Mars,
but you don't want to
sound like a tourist.
Well guess what, you're in luck.
Discovery put together 10
facts about the red planet
to get you ready for your trip.
[MUSIC PLAYS]
And remember to bring a sweater
because night time temps
can get down to
negative 200 degrees.
ALI: Now that know what
you're in for once you land,
let's talk about the
challenges of touching down.
This team of NASA scientists
explained the landing process
for 2012's Curiosity
Rover and it's
got over two million views.
NARRATOR: This big huge
parachute that we've got,
it'll only slow us down to
about 200 miles an hour.
That's not slow enough to land.
So we have no choice, but
we've got to cut it off
and then come down in rockets.
ALI: When you get there,
look for the Rover.
It's still cruising around.
JACOB SOBOROFF: One of the most
interesting things about all
these videos is to see
how much love there still
is for space exploration.
Now that you're more familiar
with the project and all
of its ins and outs, now would
you take that trip to Mars?
ALI: No.
EARNEST: No.
CARY: No, no one
wants to go to Mars.
ALEX: Yeah, let's go.
JACOB SOBOROFF: Alex, I'm down.
What about you guys?
Let us know if
you'd take the trip
and why using the
hashtag #youtubenation.
Now to play us out, the man
who fell to earth, David Bowie.
[MUSIC - DAVID BOWIE, "LIFE ON
 MARS"]
