An artist’s impression of the first human settlement on Mars. INSET: Mubashshir Ahmed


By Anand Holla

Ten days ago, unwinding at his Al Thumama residence after a hard day’s work, Mubashshir Ahmed was talking to his mother while checking mails on his laptop.
Just then, something flashed on his screen that blew his mind in slow-motion. “I rubbed my eyes in disbelief and read it thrice over. I was empty. I couldn’t process what I was reading,” Ahmed says.
Open before him was an e-mail from Mars One, the first few lines of which read: “You and only 1,057 other aspiring astronauts around the globe have been pre-selected as potential candidates to launch the dawn of a new era — human life on Mars. Congratulations. You have made it to the next round.”
Ahmed, an Indian settled in Doha, didn’t really know what to make of being selected as one of the 1,058 from more than 200,000 applicants across the world, raring to set off on a one-way trip to the red planet.
“The first thing I felt was as if I got a death sentence over mail. Imagine leaving Earth forever,” he sighs.
Mars One, the Dutch non-profit organisation that aims to initiate human life on Mars by 2024, hopes to establish a permanent human settlement by choosing the 24 most eligible candidates after putting them through rigorous exercises. Probably, the only person to have been selected from Qatar, Ahmed says the thrill of being part of a “historic achievement for mankind” instantly cleared his momentary apprehension.
“I wonder what it would be like to be the first human settlers on Mars, the founders of Mars generation. I can’t wait,” he says.
At first blush, a cost engineer at Doha’s Al Jaber Engineering with no background in astrophysics or space science seems like a misfit for an ambitious journey to a planet that at its nearest stands 54.6 million km from Earth, and at its farthest, 401 million km away.
But his sincerity, he reckons, may have appealed to the selection committee. When he presents his case to us with muted conviction, his eyes don’t lie, and neither do his words.
Around eight months back, the 27-year-old had browsed through the Mars One advertisement that said anybody could apply.
“A few days later, as I was driving back home, I was waiting at the Toyota tower signal. I looked at the sky and I saw the faint white outlines of Jupiter and Moon. That was my moment of clarity. I wondered how it would be to live on Mars,” he recalls.
As Ahmed began reading about Mars, his curiosity only grew. He signed up for the mission by filling up an online application and answering three questions via a 70-second video pitch on why he should be selected. “I self-shot the video with my smartphone camera, after practicing my answer for two hours,” he beams.
Over the next seven months, Ahmed unknowingly allowed his work and pastimes to eclipse his newfound excitement. “They never got back. Last month, they tweeted, asking us to buy Mars One-etched T-shirts, mugs or bumper stickers. Upset, I tweeted that Mars One had become just a fund-raising programme,” he says.
Days later, Ahmed received the mail that has been literally life-altering. From voraciously reading stories set in Mars to watching documentaries about it, Ahmed has developed an obsession to track every bit of news on Mars.
“Honestly, I wasn’t so kicked about it. It’s only when Mars One believed in me and selected me that I felt like I should take this seriously,” he says.
And Ahmed has taken it so seriously that he has given his lifestyle a massive makeover so as to be ready for the next round’s medical tests. In a week’s time, he has enrolled himself at a gym, joined swimming classes, started taking longer walks, spending more time with friends and started his own blog as well.
“I call home every alternate day now. Earlier, I would call them once or twice a week. They are wondering what’s wrong with me,” he laughs, “Strangely, I realise that I love them more than ever before. My life has suddenly become more organised. Emotionally, I feel more purposeful.”
Back in his hometown Vaniyambadi in Tamil Nadu, India, frenzied preparations for his marriage scheduled on February 22 are underway. But Ahmed, who hasn’t been home in a year, hasn’t broken this news to his parents or his fiancée.
“Mars One, in its mail, has asked me to speak to my dear ones soon. So I will, but after the marriage,” he says. How does he expect them to react? “They will obviously persuade me to ditch the plan. But I will convince them. They will understand. After all, my parents allowed me to live by myself in the Gulf,” he reasons.
Convincing parents sounds like only half the battle won. Doesn’t maintaining a happy interplanetary relationship with one’s spouse seem like a mighty challenge? “My wife will accept my decision because my reasons are valid. Also, if I make it, I’ll be leaving after some years. So we will have time,” he says.
Living abroad for six years — three years in Dubai, three in Doha — has helped him estimate the extent of detachment he may have to face, he feels. “Being on Mars will be similar. The only difference is that the talk or video-chat with someone on Earth, will suffer from a delay of around six minutes.”
Not only is the Mars mission an elaborate, pain-staking endeavour, it’s also very expensive. To get the first four people settle on the planet will cost US$6 billion, and every mission thereafter (of settling four people per trip) will need US$4 billion.
Starting 2024, crews of four will head to Mars every two years, and each trip is estimated to be eight months long. Little wonder then that Mars One is seeking crowd-funding.
The biggest money-spinner is, of course, a reality TV show — the revenue from selling its rights is touted to be a multi-million dollar deal — which will first track the chosen few Mars-hopefuls on Earth during their training, and later when they continue to live in Mars.
However, Ahmed is not worried. “I don’t care what viewers think of me because learning survival skills is what matters to me. I will follow the roadmap given by Mars One, and stay busy with the three main tasks of construction, maintenance and research. We won’t have time to fight or argue. It would be similar to stepping inside a science lab — working together for one goal. We won’t have time to analyse our differences.”
High on the list of plus points is Ahmed’s non-confrontational and overtly tolerant approach. “In the last six years, I have met people of various nationalities. I am comfortable with all cultures. I’m good with teamwork and my tolerance level is very high. In trying circumstances, I will outlast others,” he says, recounting an anecdote that vouches for his claim, and which he had also mentioned in his application to Mars One.
“I was living with a British expat for a year here. His 32-year-old son, who was mentally disturbed, had come to visit him. One morning, hearing him scream at his father, I woke up. Out of nowhere, he caught hold of me and began raining punches on me. He was furious and unstoppable. His father looked on helplessly. The pain was excruciating but I covered my face with both hands and took it all in. I kept telling myself: He isn’t beating you. It took five days for the pain to subside, but I knew it wasn’t his problem. He couldn’t help it,” Ahmed says.
A prime criterion for selection, Mars One confirms, is a person’s ability to function in a team. Ahmed feels that this factor has worked in his favour so far.
“I am an introvert by choice. But I have no problems interacting with any kind of person or working as a unit.”
Since the settlers will be living there indefinitely, Mars One says food will have to be produced on Mars by growing plants. “But to begin with, we will have frozen foods with us,” Ahmed says.
While low atmospheric pressure doesn’t allow liquid water to exist on its surface, water exists in the form of polar ice caps. Using a water extractor, water can be extracted from the soil once they run out of the reserve supply that their Life Support Units will stock.
“But since water will be limited, we will have to recycle our urine and drink it,” he points out. Things though don’t sound as grim in Ahmed’s words: “This winter, the temperature in Minnesota and Winnipeg was -30 degree Celsius, which was a little colder than what Mars was. So it can’t be that bad.”
Ahmed is confident that apart from missing the beauty of nature, he can access everything there that he loves to do on Earth, like watch TV, write, paint or surf the Internet. The only sacrifice then, he feels, is to depart permanently (there’s no technology yet for a return flight).
“But then, we all eventually have to say goodbye anyway — be it on Earth or on Mars,” he says, “The mission may even be a failure. But living such an experience is worth running the risk of dying.”