Maybe we're just in an extremely pessimistic place, culturally, but what I have found here, on facebook, and elsewhere is a whole lot of "meh." Getting to Mars has been in our reach for decades, the problem has been getting there and getting back, and so this proposal overcomes the last remaining hurdle by simply removing it.

Then again, that reaction is part of what keeps this in my mind. What they are looking for aren't the experts, but reasonably intelligent people who can learn the needed skills, and have the people skills themselves to survive with a small group of other people in an isolated environment. I think I would qualify. I wouldn't be doing this to leave Earth... I would be doing it to FREAKING GO TO MARS!