Paul Römer, ambassador of Mars One

April 28, 2012

Today Paul Römer agreed to become a Mars One ambassador. An established expert on grasping the attention of a global public, he was the co-creator of the worldwide phenomenon Big Brother – the television program that revolutionized reality television.

The media factor is a vital component of Mars One’s plan. We want to create an immense international media storm focused on the astronaut selection and how they prepare for their journey to Mars. We cannot think of anyone more suitable for advising us on this than Paul Römer, and as a result we are very happy that he wants to be a Mars One ambassador!

Paul Römer on Mars One

When the Mars One founders first approached me, asking whether they could speak to me about a mission to Mars, my first response was “these people are crazy”. What can they do that NASA’s can’t? That conversation made it clear to me, however. They think so creatively, and outside of the box and the concept of a ‘one-way’ mission is both outrageous and exciting. These aspects are what brought me to the idea of making the mission the biggest media event in the world. Reality meets talent show with no ending and the whole world watching. Now there’s a pitch! A lot still needs to happen and the technical facets will determine whether or not this worldwide media frenzy will truly happen, but the idea alone conjures up an endless amount of creative possibility.

Paul Römer, 2012