Vietnamese man makes it onto list of 100 people who could go to Mars.

Vu Quoc Anh is one of 100 candidates who passed the second round of selection, moving closer to becoming one of the first people to live on Mars.

Vu Quoc Anh. Photo provided by the subject.

Vu Quoc Anh, whose real name is Vu Xuan Linh, is 32 years old. He currently works in the IT field in Hanoi. Previously, he worked in marketing in Ho Chi Minh City and spent a long time studying and working in the US, Singapore, and Chile. Quoc Anh is one of nine Vietnamese individuals shortlisted and who passed the second round of the Mars One program, which seeks people to go to Mars in 2024.

Upon learning he had been selected among the top 100, Quoc Anh shared: "I feel very happy and excited. Because the selection process in this round is more difficult, the requirements for candidates regarding knowledge and information related to the program are also higher than in the previous round."

The 100 finalists were selected from 660 applicants after participating in individual interviews. They included 39 Americans, 31 from Europe, 16 from Asia, 7 from Africa, and 7 from Oceania. They had to demonstrate an understanding of potential hazards, teamwork skills, motivation for participating in the expedition, and answer psychological questions.

Staying calm, confident, and not expecting unrealistic things are the reasons Quoc Anh believes helped him pass this interview.

In a previous interview with VnExpress, Quoc Anh said that because he enjoys exploring and doing daring things, when he learned about the recruitment of astronauts to go to Mars, the young man from Thai Binh province did not hesitate to apply.

In the third round, 100 candidates will be divided into groups of four members (two men, two women) and compete directly against each other. The organizers have not yet announced the specific content of the round, but they will select the six best teams for the final training session.

Mars One is a non-profit project by Bas Lansdrop, a Dutch entrepreneur. The project is considered the most ambitious ever, aiming to send the first four people to settle on Mars in 2024 on a "one-way" spacecraft – meaning it's designed for those intending to live out the rest of their lives there.

The selection program was launched in 2011 and has received over 200,000 applications since the announcement of the selection plan in April 2013. Participants are citizens of any country, regardless of language, education level, or religion.

During their time on Mars, candidates will have to live in a completely unfamiliar environment, more than 50 million kilometers from Earth, and with average temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius. They will have to grow their own food and find ways to survive on the red planet.

According to VnExpress