MANILA : A couple of Filipina hopefuls, are still in the running to become one of the first humans to ever set foot on Mars, after being chosen from more than 200,000 candidates willing to take part in a controversial project by a Dutch non-profit organization.
Called Mars One, the initiative aims to send people to Mars by 2024, with four more going every two years. The catch is that the people sent via the mission can never return as the technology to bring them back to Earth simply does not exist yet.
Minerva Rañeses, a 24-year-old who describes herself as an “intellectual wanderer”, is one of the two mentioned.
“Internally, I see myself as an intellectual wanderer, for I seek growth in knowledge and philosophy,” she wrote on her profile page posted on the Mars One website.
“I don’t decide based on monetary or materialistic returns, but on the experience I will garner. As of now, career-wise, I’m a drifter. There is so much to learn, and keeping to a linear path seems a bit too constricting. I’ve been focusing in adventuring lately. As for my profession, I tell people I’m a writer,” she added.
Jaymee Del Rosario, on the other hand, is a 27-year-old entrepreneur. The CEO and founder of International Metal Source –a company that distributes raw material metals and exotic alloys– said that she is willing to offer her life experience and skills to the project to the project to “achieve the goal for preserving humanity.”
Both Rañeses and Del Rosario are among the “Mars 100,” a group of 100 men and women who passed the initial applicant pool of thousands.
Of the remaining aspirants, 39 are from America, 31 are from Europe, 16 from Asia, seven from Africa and seven from Australia. The oldest is 60.
Mars One is backed by “Big Brother” producer Endemol, and the television company intends to make a show documenting the progress the “Mars 100” will make as they train for the mission.
