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Cantonment Teacher Is Finalist For Trip To Mars
January 11, 2014
A Cantonment teacher is among 1,058 hopefuls that have been selected from 200,000 applicants as candidates to begin human life on Mars in 2025.
Louis O’Rear, a 49-year old science teacher at Ransom Middle School, is hoping for that ticket to ride from the Mars One program.
“I want my students to know that it’s important not what your dream is but to have a dream. And I’ve always wanted to explore space, always,” the father of two said.
“After all, the universe is the best classroom,” the teacher of 20-plus years said.
“The next several selection phases in 2014 and 2015 will include rigorous simulations, many in team settings, with focus on testing the physical and emotional capabilities of our remaining candidates. We expect to begin understanding what is motivating our candidates to take this giant leap for humankind. This is where it really gets exciting for Mars One, our applicants, and the communities they’re a part of,” said Norbert Kraft, M.D.
Details of the 2014 selection phases have not been agreed upon due to ongoing negotiations with media companies for the rights to televise the selection processes. Expect further information to be released in early 2014. Lansdorp says, “We fully anticipate our remaining candidates to become celebrities in their towns, cities, and in many cases, countries. It’s about to get very interesting.”
O’Rear’s application video for the Mars One program is below.
Comments
42 Responses to “Cantonment Teacher Is Finalist For Trip To Mars”
I had Mr. O as my science teacher back in 1994. His hair was a little darker back then, but he hasn’t changed.
In fact, that classroom looks exactly the same as when I was there! Crazy town banana pants.
Anyway, here’s to Mr. O in space! I still remember Bernoulli’s Principle!! GO O!
Ohhh , Just came across this and many of my kids Had Mr .O , What a wonderful teacher who made learning fun and smart too, kids who wanted to buy him a Christmas Gift , He said bring me toilet paper – lol – Im sure this man hasn’t had to buy paper in 15 years – Love it !!!
Support Mr. O and share this post – sincerely hoping he get this adventure of a lifetime !!!
Dlo, this does not compare to the ISS in any way shape or form. The ISS has regular supply ships servicing them and this mars thing is to be totally self sufficient. Some of the technology exist but we are still a loooong ways away from where these folks will need to be to sustain themselves. Also, the moon landing was a planned round trip operation. This is a one way trip. I bet not one of the planners or people paying for this trip will be going along because they know it is a suicide trip and lets face it. thats going to be the face of reality tv in the near future. They can’t wait to show death as it happens on television. People are getting more and more callous with other peoples lives. I would bet money some would love to have a real hunger games on tv.
That private Dutch firm is a reality television show. Look it up.
DLo,
Let us hope so.
David for longevity
David
I don’t dispute any of that, and I am not saying that they will raise the astronomical amount of money it will take, or if they do if they will be successful. I agree that the margin for error on something like this is almost nonexistent. It would be the most ambitious undertaking, possibly in human history. But the technology for everything they are trying to accomplish exists now, we have successfully landed on Mars, we have been able to keep people alive and healthy on the ISS for extended amounts of time, and there is gravity on the surface of Mars, just about a third of the Earth’s gravity. My problem is with the dismissal of the idea as fantasy, for whatever reason. I firmly believe that I will live to see humans on the surface of Mars, whether this project gets off the ground or not.
DLo,
The reasons to doubt the success are several.
Interplanetary radiation does much biological damage over time.
Even when they land, they will basically still be exposed to outer space radiation with 1% atmospheric shielding.
Weightlessness causes muscular and bone weakening.
Previous attempts to survive in a closed environment failed.
If they forget some essential item, they will be dead ere it reaches them.
With an atmosphere basically a weak vacuum, they will need space suits to move around.
Clothes wear out; when those clothes protect you from vacuum, failure is unpleasant.
Even if they grow their own crops, crops fail.
Lifting any mass into space is energy and money demanding.
Carelessness kills.
There is little margin of error
So the Dutch live in a fantasy world too? ;- ])
You are aware we have sent spacecraft to Mars, right. We successfully landed space crafts on the surface and deployed remote control rovers, several, that explored and took samples. The Russians landed the first spacecraft on Mars in 1971. Why would it be fantasy to imagine that you could man a flight to Mars, especially when you cut out the cost and logistics of having to make a return trip. I’m fairly certain this is the same type of thing that people said before the first manned moon landing.
In the year 2025, there will be RETURN trips… and there will be a Grocery Store very close – time wise
o.k. bro.here is food for thought…
supposedly it takes about 210 days to get to mars from whichever side of earth they get trajected from. not sure about the claustrophobic aspect of being in a very small unit for 210 days and not being able to move around much (if they are not going to be asleep for that long). also, who says their transit unit won’t be hit by a meteor or comet while on their 210 day very, very long journey! oops! ha! he has 2 children. if i were a father i’d like to know what my grand kids were like if or when i had them! once you get trajected, there is no coming back…at all. (now, if they were to send a piggy back transit vehicle along with them, that would be the ticket back to the first transit habitat and then they could switch places with another crew that just got into orbit. don’t know why they don’t think of that?) oh well. what ever. i believe all of the applicants have the ability to back out at the last moment and the people funding the mission has the ability to say who can and can’t go at the last minute. it makes my head spin just thinking about it all!!
So the Dutch live in a fantasy world too? ;- ])
Mr. O.
Have you forgot about the Vomit Comet?
The project is being done by a PRIVATE Dutch firm, not the US government, so your arguments about wasteful spending or Obamacare are unnecessary. The project is scheduled to leave in 2018, it is supposed to arrive at Mars in 2025, Mars is more than a days drive away. We as a people have always wanted to set foot where no one ever has before, this is no different than the explorers that left the comforts of home port to see what lay beyond the horizon. This is a one way trip, the project is to set up a living colony on the surface of Mars and more travelers are scheduled to arrive about every two years. Good luck Mr. O’Rear, I sincerely hope you get to make this journey. Thank God there are still people like you that can see beyond themselves.
Bill2,
This is not a government program.
People are not going there to die, even though we all die eventually.
They hope to go there to live, learn, improve the lot of humanity.
David for good people
Mr. O was my homeroom teacher back in 8th grade i go to tate highschool down the road now. thisll be so cool if he goes!
MR.O is an amazing and inspiring teacher. Both of our sons were honored to be in his class. He was both of theirs favorite teacher., and one is planning on an engineering degree. I hope they pick Mr.O, and after Mars. He should teach teachers!
In my lifetime I have met very few individuals that seem to energize and invigorate the people that they come in contact with. Louis is one of those few.
His dynamism and positive influence can be seen in many of the comments here and are a testament to his devotion and abilities.
He obviously found his calling in teaching and I hope he finds his dream as an historic explorer.
How are is the U.S. Going to mars when Obama shut down the space program to pay for his biggest failure obamacare ?
This is very cool. Can’t wraith to tell Dylan. Mr. O’Rear was his favorite teacher!!!
Good luck with your one way trip to Mars, you’ll need it!!!!
Whooaaa inertia!!! Best teacher EVER!! I’m hoping he’s around for my kids too!! Good luck mr.o!
Seems to to me there 200,000 people with a death wish who volunteered for this project. This is a one way trip with absolutely no hope for rescue if something goes wrong. This explains alot to me about whats wrong with our countries education system when teachers are volunteering for suicide missions.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I heard that the ISS will “closed” in 10 years. That thing only cost $100,000,000,000. What could possibly hold us back from Mars? Oh wait, I get it, we’re using “democratic” math. LOL
CONTEMPLATING:
“How can you possibly live on mars with no oxygen??”
You can’t, so you bring and/or make oxygen from local resources.
AND:
“Secondly who would want to chance it??”
Any of the 200,000 who applied.
———————————————————-
It sounds like a great honor unless someone’s just trying to get rid of him.
David for good trips
This guy has been the best teacher I’ve ever had and I’m a senior in college! I would give anything for this to come true for him! “Whoaaaaaa, inertia!”
I was in Mr. O’Rear’s science class at Ransom almost 20 years ago. I never have liked science, but I LOVED his class. Good luck, and I hope you are selected!
Forty nine seems to be a little old to me for a flight to mars and you will be sixty in 2025.
I say congratulations and good luck.
One way…is life here that bad?!?! Mr. O come on!!
Patience, kindness, honesty, self-control, courage, love, respect, responsibility, fairness, compassion, empathy, generosity, don’t plan around lecture see, frugal teeth, integrity, …… What else is missing, good luck Mr. O’rear
I don’t understand the mentality of leaving your family. The children’s lives you have touched, you could touch many more here. My understanding is this is a designed one way only trip.
How can you possibly live on mars with no oxygen?? Secondly who would want to chance it?? I’ll stay here & take my chances..lol
Wonder how close the nearest grocery store is.
Mr. O’ Rear,
The Meredith/Carroll family is cheering for you to win a ticket to travel to Mars!!! You deserve it!!! You are one of the most energetic, caring, productive, and gifted teachers we know. Our son Chase is in his fourth semester of college; on full scholarship. You are a huge part of his success!!! Thank you for being a wonderful teacher and person!!!
Well this sound completely unsafe lol please tell gazoo I said hey
I hope this is a dream come true for Mr. O’Rear, my daughter was one of his students and there was often a funny story from his class to tell when she came home. He makes learning fun and interesting.
We loved Mr. O when my daughter was one of his students. He kept the kids attention and it was never boring. Good luck!!!
What an amazing opportunity for you…you sound like a real go getter!!!!
Hope he gets selected! Mankind has always wanted to cross the next hill, climb the next mountain or sail the next ocean. Private enterprise is the only way we are going to get to Mars because our government today is more concerned with social programs than exploration.
LOL Niknac! But dont we want that mission to succeed?
Best of luck Louis.
I think it’s funny that people sound like they are taking this serious. Oh well, if it makes them happy more power to them. :-/
What an amazing opportunity! I was in Mr. O’Rears class in 1998 and I can honestly say I have never been so engaged in learning. He is a wonderful teacher, role-model and all-around person. That year I realized I too had a passion for science.
* Keep your dreams alive and I hope to hear good things in the upcoming future.
Awesome and I hope you get selected. My daughter Amanda always spoke highly of you while attending Tate High School.