Over 1,000 Make First Cut in Mars Colony Contest

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A little over one-thousand applicants are one step closer to a one-way trip to Mars.

Mars One, the Dutch-based nonprofit spearheading an effort to establish the first human colony on the Red Planet, kicked off 2014 by announcing it had trimmed down the initial 200,000-plus aspiring space settlers who had applied for the program to 1,058 candidates, picked to move on to the next elimination round.

The organization hopes to begin launching groups of four on one-way trips to Mars by 2024. The application deadline was last August and those selected to continue to the more rigorous testing phase of the competition were notified by email Dec. 30.

Mars One co-founder Bas Lansdorp said in a statement that it had to determine "those who we feel are physically and mentally adept to become human ambassadors on Mars from those who are obviously taking the mission much less seriously."

Some applicants, added Lansdorp, included nude photos of themselves in their applications.

Those who survived the first elimination included 297 from the United States, 75 from Canada, 62 from India and 52 from Russia. The balance of the continuing applicants hail from the 103 other countries from which Mars One recruited.

"The next several selection phases in 2014 and 2015 will include rigorous simulations, many in team settings," Mars One's chief medical officer, Norbert Kraft, said in a statement. The next rounds of testing will focus on "the physical and emotional capabilities of our remaining candidates."

Mars One previously announced it expects to broadcast a reality TV show to track the astronaut selection and training process, as well as help raise money for the missions.

Lansdorp said during the Dec. 30 press briefing that his group is still in negotiations with media companies over the rights to televise its activities.

"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," Lansdorp said. "

About 77 percent of the men and women who survived the first round are employed, while an estimated 15 percent are still in school.

Approximately 55 percent of the applicants are male, with most being quite young -- 357 are under 25, 415 are under 35, and only 26 are over 56.

One 81-year-old made it into the second round.

With aerospace giant Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. providing project guidance, Mars One plans to send a robotic lander and satellite to Mars in 2018, as a run-up for its manned missions.

To help get the robotic mission off the ground, the group also launched their first crowdfunding campaign through the website Indiegogo.