1 It may sound crazy but there is a plan to fly human beings to Mars. Not only that, they

2 won't be coming back. The plan also involves colonizing the planet. Even more remarkably,

3 "Mars One" (unlike the moon landing and other NASA projects) won't be financed by the

4 American taxpayer. Mars One is a private venture, run by a 37-year-old Dutch entreprenour

5 called Bas Lansdorp.

11-13 ...the chances surviving a 210-day journey in space are at best limited. And even if the astronauts do survive the journey they will spend the rest of their days living in high-tech huts.

16-21 The other great mystery about the Project is financial. Lansdorp has announced that the mission will cost $6 billion, but many critics have said that this isn't nearly enough. Where on earth (no pun intended) will he find the money? Apparently, the idea is to finance everything with a reality TV show. In any case, assuming that Mars One does actually happen, the "road map" for the Project states that an unmanned mission will carry a Rover Explorer and a satellite to Mars in 2020.

25-29 So far there has been no shortage of applicants. New Yorker Sybelle Silverphoenix recently learned that she had got through to the second selection round... It may seem a strange choice for a woman who has an acting and modeling career, and who is the mother of a young daughter, but Silverphoenix says she has been dreaming of travelling in space ever since she was a child.