Thousands upon thousands of people say they're willing to take the trip of a lifetime - one from which they'll never return to earth.

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The Mars One Project is supported by the Mars One non-profit group which aims to set up a human settlement on Mars by 2023.

The catch: It's a one way trip. The winners will live out their days on the red planet, all in the name of research.

Since Mars One started accepting applications last week, more than 20,000 people around the world have already applied to be part of the team, according to i09.com. Since there aren't any limits to who can apply, other than paying the processing fee, that number is expected to balloon.

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"Gone are the days when bravery and the number of hours flying a supersonic jet were the top criteria," Mars One's Chief Medical Director, Norbert Kraft, says on the project's website. “For this mission of permanent settlement we are more concerned with how well each astronaut lives and works with others and their ability to deal with a lifetime of challenges."

The selection process includes a reality-show tv element. After experts weed out possible candidates in the first few rounds, Mars One will turn over the final choices to a world audience.

Applications for the first round will be accepted at apply.mars-one.com through August 31, 2013.

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A Face on Mars

NASA's Viking 1 Orbiter captured this image on July 25, 1976. NASA says the speckled appearance is due to missing data that happened while transmitting the image from Mars to Earth. (Image: NASA)