Voyage to Mars has its skeptics_美文_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Voyage to Mars has its skeptics

According to the project brochure, applicants pay an administration fee based on their country's per capita GDP. Chinese applicants pay only $11.

Lansdorp also confirmed that at least 78,000 people worldwide, including about 10,000 from China, had submitted applications worldwide as of May 7.

A businessman from Dujiangyan, Sichaun province, who applied for a spot, also dismisses the concerns. "I don't understand why there are so many people questioning this project," Ma Qiang said. "It's an interesting project, and I'll keep an eye on its progress."

The 39-year-old said other applicants he knows also are optimistic about the project, adding that the nonrefundable admission fee is clearly stated on its official website.

"Pay $11 to get the chance of showing myself in front of the world,that's worthwhile," Ma said. "Whether the trip can make it or not is not that important to me."

In late April, Mars One chose Shanghai as the site of its second application-related news conference, after New York City.

Lansdorp said it is because he believes many Chinese, including children, are interested in being astronauts, especially as China had sent its own "taikonauts" into space.

Still, the project has its skeptics.

Pang Zhihao, a space flight expert, has said the trip to Mars sounds more like a commercial than a serious project.

The astronomical cost, the long voyage in space that will cause acute bone loss and muscle atrophy, and the severe environment on Mars a frigid, barren planet whose thin atmosphere cannot support human life - will make the trip difficult.