Excelsior Resident Aims for Mars

Excelsior resident Catherine Johnson wants to be a Martian.

We’re not talking little green men. Johnson is among 1,058 people selected from a pool of 200,000 applicants to be part of the Mars One project, the organization announced Monday.

Mars One aims to establish permanent human life on Mars beginning in 2024. Those who are selected will not return to Earth.

Mars One predicts that putting the first four people on the planet will cost $6 billion, with an additional $4 billion for every manned mission after that. Organizers plan to fund the project with advertising, sponsorships, crowdfunding and a reality show.

“We fully anticipate our remaining candidates to become celebrities in their towns, cities, and in many cases, countries. It’s about to get very interesting,” a news release quoted Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp.

Critics say the project is unlikely to succeed. But that hasn’t deterred Johnson—a 62-year-old who describes herself as a “high-energy person who has passion for her work, family and life” in her online Mars One profile.

“I would love to go to Mars because I’ve always wanted to live in space and can’t imagine a better way to contribute to human development,” she said in a video application, shown above.