No one in their right mind would go to the moon if you told them they could never come back?
Did you miss all that stuff about the Mars One thing? THOUSANDS of applicants that applied to be sent to live on Mars, with no possibility of ever returning to Earth.
Did you miss all that stuff about the Mars One thing? THOUSANDS of applicants that applied to be sent to live on Mars, with no possibility of ever returning to Earth.
I didn't hear any that said, we're looking for volunteers to go to Mars, but once you get their you live in a tiny enclosed structure until you die with no chance of ever seeing Earth or breathing natural air again.
I guess it would be one thing if you could take your family with you and start a new life as pioneers, but for an individual, such a one-way trip seems like it would only appeal to someone currently unhappy with life or who was suicidal and wanted to see something cool before they die, or someone who only wants to be remembered for something. It seems the motivations for a sacrificial one-way trip would not be the ideal psychology for an explorer.
And it would also depend on the purpose of the trip - a sacrifice to save others in more meaningful & noble than one for no good reason. The whole point of exploration is to somehow get word of your discoveries to others, not just to take off and die. Remember, the Robinson's in Lost in Space left Earth on a one-way trip in an attempt to save the planet.
(I'm kind of mixing up the scenarios now of traveling to the future and trips to Mars. Starting... to not... make... sense.)