Mars One Project

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/09/tech/innovation/mars-one-applications/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

The above link goes to an article about the Mars One Project, which proposes to send a series of small groups to Mars.  These people will be there for the rest of their lives.  Now, before I get going, I commend the spirit of the people who started the project and the people who signed up for it.  Manned space exploration is a noble goal, and like it or not, it really will become a necessity at some point in the future.  That being said, there's no way this is going to happen.  The project proposes launching in 2022, which is only nine years in the future.  For reference, it took NASA eight years to become ready for a moon landing, and that was with the resources of an entire nation and boundless determination.  While private space flight has at least gotten off the ground, it is nowhere close to being ready to send a man to Mars.  If their goal was the moon, maybe, but Mars is a much more difficult and dangerous target.  I'm sorry, but there is no way a grassroots project like this will work.  The technology just isn't there, and it will cost billions to develop it, and I don't think the people involved have enough money to do it.  To even attempt this flight would be insanely reckless and would probably do more harm than good to the name of space exploration, an area that has low enough public support as it is.