A Dutch entrepreneur is on a mission to send a bold gang of explorers - aka reality show contestants - to Mars.

It's either one of the biggest hoaxes in history conjured up by a group of richly deluded young fantasists or a brave attempt to challenge the boundaries of space travel and beat Nasa and co at their own game.

The Mars One online statement explains that by using the $6bn (4.7bn euros; £3.8bn) generated through the biggest-ever television spectacle, the team will have enough knowledge and resources to set up a permanent colony on Mars.

Nasa is hoping to send a team to Mars by 2030. So how does a Dutch entrepreneur think he's going to beat the experts by approximately seven years?

"Well it's simple. We're not going to bring them back. This is a one-way ticket. They will spend the rest of their lives on Mars."

I think a one way ticket off the planet sounds like a great idea for Reality TV contestants.

two years of free fall sex on TV followed by a slow or not so slow death

Hey... If I was told I'd got terminal cancer (or similar), I'd go.
Though I must admit I'd prefer the moon as there'd be a nice view of the Earth.
In a hundred years time astronauts would go back and find me in a space suit (dead), sitting in a deck chair, looking at the view.