"Hard Work, No Pay, Eternal Glory"

The Mars Society is looking for a few good men and women to run its "Four-Month Mars Mission Simulation at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station" on Devon Island, which is way, way, way up north.

As currently planned, the crew will consist of four individuals chosen primarily for their skills as field scientists in areas including geology, geochemistry, microbiology, biochemistry, and paleontology. Two additional crew members will, be chosen primarily for their skills in engineering areas. Ability of crew members to support both roles is considered a strong plus.

Full details, including the memorable "hard work, no pay, eternal glory" line, an upbeat echo of the famous Shackleton trans-Antarctic expedition advertisement ("small wages, bitter cold…honour and recognition in case of success"), here.

And, of course, there's room for one stowaway with mixed loyalties, some sort of android/cyborg/hyper-rational half-breed human, and at least a couple of throwaway guys who prefer wearing red shirts (related har-hars, courtesy pro libertate, here).

Back in 1999, the NY Times' John Tierney wrote a story for Reason about Mars Society head Robert Zubrin's plans to get to the Red Planet. That potential Martian Chronicle is online here.