Shirley Tart: To infinity and beyond, but what if it's for infinity?

The Red Planet is merely a bus stop on the way to a galaxy far, far away. Mind you, since it still takes six months to get there, it'd be quite a bus trip.

But just imagine the view. The stars, the planets, the comets, the infinite star-lit darkness of space stretching to eternity. Poetry in rocket motion.

However, when push comes to shove, how many of us would really want ourselves launched into the mystery of endless deep space?

It's a question we've asked since those early days of space exploration during the last century.

True, the astronauts (USA), cosmonauts (Soviets) and others had a fair idea that if everything goes according to plan, no mistakes and a following wind – actually no, I don't think you get our sort of winds in space – they stood a good chance of coming back.

And apart from a few awful disasters, most of them did. If only to ask the question, what on earth do you do next when you've been in outer space, stood on the moon or floated weightlessly outside your spacecraft home?

Now, fast forward to 2014. The chance has come up for extraordinary ordinary folk to apply for the trip to end all trips. A journey out to Planet Mars.

Goodness. Who on earth would apply? Anyone?

Well 200,000 volunteers came forward.

They've just been whittled down to the cream of the crop. That's 1,058 people selected by the project team known as Mars One.

But what exactly does it mean?

Will those who are finally chosen have to give up, say, a couple of years of life on earth? Six months getting there, a year on Mars and six months for the return journey. It's a doddle, yes?

No.

Because the deal is that if you go to Mars, you won't be coming back.

Now, the idea of bolting for a while is one thing, but this is a bit drastic isn't it?

What if you don't like the food? Worse – where IS the food?