Maltese traveller extraordinaire Stephen Fenech this week moved a step closer to his aspiration of becoming one of the world’s first settlers on Mars. After having been shortlisted from the original 202,500 applicants from across the world vying for a spot on the multibillion-dollar Mars One project, Stephen has now made it through another cut and the short list has been whittled down from 1,058 to just 706 finalists.

Maltese are known to be among the most-travelled people on the planet and Stephen Fenech is the epitome of that perception. Over the course of his 45 years on earth, he has travelled to no less than 160 countries from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica to the depths of the Sahara Desert, and just about everywhere else in between.

Now Stephen plans to go where no Maltese, nor any human being for that matter, has ever been before: Mars.

Stephen, a 45-year-old Maltese citizen who works as a television director in Toronto, is among the 1,058-odd finalists vying for one of 40 coveted spots on the multibillion-dollar Mars One project, which will see a group of adventurers colonising the Red Planet. The initial call for applications had attracted some 202,500 applicants willing to become Martians, on a one-way ticket, starting in 2023.

Speaking to The Malta Independent on Sunday recently, Stephen said he looks forward to “planting the Maltese flag on another planet” should he make the final cut.

On the prospect of the trip to Mars being effectively a one-way ticket Stephen, who has just written a travel book on his rich experiences here on earth, says, “I’ve had such a cornucopia of experiences here on earth that I would have no regrets,” Stephen says. “I’m vacillating between excitement and terror. But more and more it is becoming pure excitement. When I imagine myself, not just in another country but on a whole other planet, I am so excited about being there.”

Stephen feels that after seeing 160 countries and seven continents, “I’m running out of new turf.

“So, I thought, why not end with a bang and do something so poignant, so profoundly important to the advancement of knowledge as well as the continuation of our way of life?

“I see the value in going. Our sun is getting brighter and some day it won’t support life. That may not be for even another billion years but the only way to be prepared is to set out now. It’s a historic undertaking.”

Having experienced the Four Corners of the Earth, Stephen says he is completely satisfied with the way his life has unfolded on this planet and that he is ready that for a new adventure.

“If I was 20 years younger I might have second thoughts. I almost got married twice, but it didn’t work out. If I had had kids, it might be a different story.

“As such, I would only be leaving my parents [who are from Birzebbuga and Mosta] behind, but just because I wouldn’t physically be in the same space doesn’t mean I wouldn’t still be in touch with them.”

Stephen is well aware of the risks involved, having witnessed and photographed the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle back in 1986, “I don’t mind being a guinea pig,” he says. “I know I’d be the guinea pig, and I know I’m taking a chance. But the way I see it is that I’ll be in my waning years by then, and close to retirement so I might as well do something that’s so fulfilling – not just to me but to our entire race.

 “I know there is risk involved but I’m willing to take that chance because I figure I can leave my own mark on society,” he said. “Yes, this is a one-way trip but then again, life itself is a one-way trip.”

Stephen also believes that being an award-winning photographer and filmmaker will help him make the final cut, since he would be an asset in documenting the colonisation of Mars.

“My background in television could help with the reality show aspect of the mission, and I also served in the Canadian Navy. More than that, I have not just travelled to 160 countries but I have travelled in extreme conditions and many times in complete isolation.”

He has witnessed terrorist attacks up close and personal, such as one in Sri Lanka that killed six people before his very eyes and which knocked him to the ground. More than that, since the Mars colony will be representative of the whole of planet Earth, his experiences in interacting with so many different cultures seamlessly will make him a natural selection for the project.

As for the next 10 years before his potential blast off, Stephen plans to hit those few countries he has not yet visited. Travel plans to Saudi Arabia recently fell through, and he said that after our conversation yesterday that he was to begin looking into travelling to Sudan.

And he will undoubtedly be visiting Malta at least one more time before his next, and definitely greatest, adventure begins.

 

More about the project on the Mars One website at: www.mars-one.com

‘Like’ Stephen’s Facebook page, Stephen Fenech Mars One Candidate, at: https://www.facebook.com/stephenfenechmars