The five British candidates are all under the age of 35 and hope to be chosen to be among the final crew of four, who will eventually be selected for a 'one-way ticket' to the red planet. Pictured left to right, they are: Maggie Lieu, Alison Rigby, Hannah Earnshaw, Ryan MacDonald and Clare Weedon. Hannah Earnshaw, 23, a PhD student in astronomy at Durham University, said: 'Human space exploration has always interested me so the opportunity to be one of the people involved was really appealing. The future of humanity is in space. My family is pretty thrilled. They're really happy for me. Obviously it's going to be challenging, leaving Earth and not coming back. I've had support from my friends and family and we can still communicate via the internet.' The final team of four is scheduled to arrive in 2025 following a gruelling seven-month journey from Earth and could live in pods (artist's illustration pictured, bottom).
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