Latvian misses cut for Mars mission

Despite passing the muster for the first two rounds, which whittled away about a thousand prospective interplanetary travelers from 200,000 that applied, Irbins was shut out of the running after the third video interview stage.

“This was sad news. My feelings aren’t the best, of course, as I’ve invested a lot of work into this process. I thought I had a good chance, but obviously the Mars One specialists have their criteria,” Irbins told portal Delfi.

He does have one last hope to apply as a reservist for the Mars colonization project, in case a team is disqualified by one of its members dropping out of the program.

“Yes, my gut feeling says I’ll apply again. The goal’s been set and every chance must be taken,” said the optimistic wanna-be spaceman from Cēsis. He said he’s gained a lot of new knowledge and skills that he can use not just to apply to the Mars One reservist program again, but also to educate Latvians about space.

"The fight for the ticket to Mars has ended. For now. Thanks to all who supported," he tweeted.

Mars One is the initiative of entrepreneur Baz Lensdorp from the Netherlands, who hopes to attract advertising resources to help fund the mission. The mission team members are not to return to Earth ever again, according to the plan.

The 40-year old Irbins is married and has two sons. He studied business economics at the University of Latvia and led the international student organization AIESEC branch in Latvia.

“My interest in space and aviation has been with me since childhood, for which I thank my parents. Taking part in this project is a good way to encourage Latvia’s young people to learn about space research and study. The space industry is the fastest growing in the world, and there are career and business opportunities there for Latvians,” said Irbins upon first making the cut among the first 1058 potential Martians.