Derby Student Shortlisted For Mars Mission

17 February 2015, 16:26 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A student from Derby has been shortlisted for the controversial Mars One Mission, which aims to start a settlement on the red planet.

Ryan MacDonald, a Physics student studying at Oxford University, is one of 5 Britons hoping to be chosen for the £4 billion one-way trip.

He said "it's a chance to fulfill a life's dream, a chance to be an astronaut which is almost every child's dream."

His family are concerned, especially his younger sister, but he says she doesn't mind as long as he sends video messages as often as possible.

"She knows it's my dream and would not want to stand in the way of that"

The other hopefuls include an Astrophysics student at the University of Birmingham, a Lab technician and a Systems information manager.

Mars One has whittled down over 200,00 applicants from around the world to a list of 100 - 31 from Europe, 39 from the Americas, 16 from Asia, seven from Africa and seven from Oceania.

The 4 eventual winners will travel over 100 million miles to Mars in the mission which hopes to launch in 2024.