image credit NASAHaving reached the age of 76, it might be expected that Valentina Tereshkova - the first woman in space in 1963 - would be planning a life of quiet gentility: a bit of gardening, perhaps, or catching up on reading. Far from it. She has a very different idea of how her future will unfold: she wants to go to Mars, her favorite planet. More to the point, she says she is happy if the mission turns out to be a one-way trip.
Thousands of people from around the world have signed up to a project called Mars One - a Dutch non-profit organization - which has announced plans to launch a private mission to land a group of four men and women on Mars in 2023 to found a permanent colony. To date, 165,000 have signed up.
