Woodbury Man Hopes To Start Colony on Mars, and Never Return to Earth

Would you leave everyone you know and the comforts of Earth to start a pioneering colony on Mars?

One Woodbury resident is eager to do just that. 

Jackson Kisling is one of four Minnesotas among more than 1,000 semifinalists selected by Mars One, a Netherlands nonprofit, according to a Pioneer Press story.

"When I heard this, I was gurgling with excitement," Kisling, 37, told the Pioneer Press. He manages a shop in Hudson, WI, that makes control panels for railroads.

It is expected to cost $6 billion to send the first four people to Mars. Every two years, four more people will be sent to the red planet, at a cost of $4 billion, according to the Mars One website. 

The cost "would be paid by advertising and fees from televising the event in a prolonged reality show," according to the Pioneer Press story.

"I strongly believe that space exploration is the most important thing we will do this century, or not do," Kisling told twincities.com. "If my participation in any way improves the process, it will be well worthwhile."

• Paul Larson of New Hope
• Dr. Catherine Johnson of Excelsior
• Chad Schilling of Eden Prairie