NASA’s latest astronaut recruitment drive is talking about sending people to Mars. They are looking for people with advanced degrees in engineering, maths, biology or the physical sciences. You can’t be shorter than 5’2″ or taller than 6’3″. Pilots with more than 1,000 hours of flight time are desired; so are educators.
And of course you’ll need a sense of daring!
But let’s forget all that and think instead about the more whimsical idea of who we’d like to send a few million miles away.
The only rules are: stick to celebrities and public figures and don’t get too personal!
Follow @libdemvoice.org on Bluesky
Like us on Facebook
Subscribe to our feed
Sign-up for our daily email digest
Northern Ireland debates the future of its railways in 1957
Church Green video
Thinking of standing for election or re-election next year? Helpful questions to consider
Endometriosis and acetylation
Jeff
Nonconformistradical
John Peters
David Raw
Henry
13 Comments
Anne Widdicombe as she is so upset at missing out on a peerage.
I’d start with Messrs Gove and Lansley
Lembit would be a good candidate
(1) We know he is interested in what is happening in outer space with his comments on comets
(2) He has got an out-of-this-world personality
(3) One of his ancestors was an astronomer
(4) Whilst I am not sure if he has a pilot’s licence he did used to like flying gliders
(5) It will give him something to now that the chat show work is drying up
If I say Ed Balls, you will all immediately understand why. Out of a sense of Liberal compassion, I would allow him take Yvette Cooper along too. He will be able to apply his pixie dust kensian policies to revive the Marsian canal system, she will no doubt be very effective at preventing any further immigration to Mars through effective very exhaustive border controls.
David Cameron, on an official visit, I would be more than happy for the DPM to cover for the PM…
Oh gosh, can’t think of the guy’s name … Click or something… No, it’s gone, sorry.
Most of the government
Bernie Ecclestone, Sarah Palin, Tony Blair, Katie Price, Rupert Murdoch, Harriet Harman, Robert Mugabe, Simon Cowell and all homeopaths.
Paul Dacre would probably prefer life on Mars.
On the other hand the very mention of the ‘M’ word could conjure up an image of “unimaginable depravity” to the Daily Mail editor and bring him down to earth.
Jeremy Browne and the panda (oh, sorry, wrong competition)…
Not too personal? Pity. I’d certainly send the Director who abolished our Voluntary Sector Unit, though on the plus side I have lots more time in which I can get involved in transformational, customer-centred, cutting-edge things like this (and say what I think).
Richard Dawkins since he would make sure at least that his jeans survived. Jeffrey Archer because we could keep tabs on him as we could see his ego from space. Rupert Murdoch not only because earth would be better off, but also because he would be well camouflaged as his face resembles Mars’ surface. Sarah Palin because she couldn’t see Russia from there.
David Cameron, George Osborne, Andrew Lansley, Michael Gove, and all the Republican presidential contenders. In that order. Once they are on their way, perhaps a second batch, comprising the most repulsive people in the Labour Party (Keith Vaz, Steve Pound, Tony Blair, John Reid), and a press corps contingent including Rupert Murdoch, Richard Desmond, Melanie Phillips, Richard Littlejohn and Queen Nicotina (aka Anne Leslie). With that lot off the TV screen, my blood pressure stays at a safe level.
I would send trained geologists and astronaughts, because they would be able to do a lot of very productive things on Mars that will hugely benefit our understanding of the universe.