Google + Branson team up for Mars = Virgle

"[S]tarting in 2014, Virgin founder Richard Branson and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will be leading hundreds of users on one of the grandest adventures in human history: Project Virgle, the first permanent human colony on Mars." Link. (thanks, Sam Coniglio)

* Ed. Note: I suppose I should remind the humor-impaired of the calendrical significance behind this important announcement.

• [trueblue2]

  I’m distressingly normal. How disappointing. Is that because I can kick backgammon ass or because I’m better at Guitar Hero than physics?

• [David Carroll]

  Talia (#17) Were you the bookworm with the pet raccoon? ;)

• [pa]

  Why do they think that I wouldn’t be fit for such a mission?

  Well, you’re distressingly normal and could conceivably adjust to life as a deep space pioneer, though we recommend instead that you leave the Mars missions to the serious whack jobs who scored over 130 and instead finish year 3 of law school, tuck your toddler into bed, design Web 2.0 applications, run for Congress or do whatever other normal, healthy, middle-of-the-road thing you’re currently doing with your normal, healthy, middle-of-the-road life.

• [Jeff]

  I’d like to say my enthusiasm for this project is tempered by my expectation of the cost. This will eat up hundreds of billions of dollars. And I think they should talk to someone who’s really looked into the money side of space exploration, such as Charles Stross, so they can get a sobering opinion. We have way too many people on Earth that could use help with that money. Yes, there will always be people to help until we become a post scarcity society, but Mars is dead and Earth is just sick and can be saved. Going to Mars to do what, terraform it? We need to start here by just getting fresh water to hundreds of millions of people! More egos with too much money.

• [Lex10]

  Have you considered the date?

• [Moon]

  Yeah, right!

• [gabrielm]

  Wait a minute…
  What “calendrical significance” does 2014 heave?

• [Takuan]

  darn,I turn out “distressingly normal” on the screening test

• [dculberson]

  @Gabrielm: Uhhh.. the only thing I’m coming up with is this:

  “Orion 2 and Ares I have their first manned launch”

• [Man On Pink Corner]

  This should not be an April Fool’s joke. I’d contribute a metric fuckload of money to a private Mars colonization effort, even if I couldn’t go myself.

• [cory]

  I know this is a prank, but I’m signing up anyway, on the 1/10**9 chance that it isn’t.

• [David Carroll]

  Alas this is one story that I wish was true. Google almost took me in with Gmail Paper, so now I don’t trust them at all.

  Even when they sent me an email saying they would kill my Gmail domain name if I didn’t give them some dough by today I thought they were kidding… Turns out that one was true :)

• [cory]

  BTW, tux high-fiving a Martian is hell of sweet.

• [Elorin]

  Congratulations — you are ideally suited to be a Virgle Pioneer; so ideally so, in fact, that one wonders why you aren’t already living on a remote South Pacific island, serving as a biosphere test subject, washing dishes at a North Pole research station during the depths of winter or writing a highly intelligent, articulate political blog. At any rate, we want you for one of our upcoming Virgle launches. You’ll love it — the pay is great, the view from the spaceport should be spectacular, and we’re told that algae and spirulina actually start to taste good after the hundredth consecutive day. Anyway, if you want to give Virgle a try, you can submit your video here

• [scottfree]

  Did anyone else see the fake Zelda film trailer today, speaking of jokes?

• [gabrielm]

  @Man On Pink Corner

  I’d contribute a metric fuckload of money

  US or Canadian?

• [Spaceman Sam]

  Yay! I got Boing Boinged! Google does an annual April Fools joke. Each year they get more complicated. Cool that Richard Branson joined in the fun!

• [Antinous]

  The good news is that my scientist mother’s scientist boyfriend got me a reservation on the first commercial flight to the moon. The bad news is that it was with PanAm. Do you think that Virgin will honor the PanAm reservation list?

• [Jeff]

  I guess I just don’t know when something is a joke or not. I just took it as another example of insane wealth acting stupid. How funny.

• [Talia]

  Dammit.

  I can’t believe I fell for that.

  *facepalm*

  Good one, though. Well played. :p

• [Jake0748]

  I took the test, turns out I’m very qualified to go on an April Fools trip to colonize Mars. Yay!

• [Saisumimen]

  APRIL something something… -_-

• [Talia]

  I had a huge crush on someone in high school named David Carroll.

  You didn’t go to school in CT did you, #8? ;) :P

• [Talia]

  David: never had a pet raccoon persay, but bookworm yes.

  …

  Not a JBHS graduate, surely? :P

• [Jake0748]

  Jeff @21, are you in a country that doesn’t celebrate April fools day?

• [David Carroll]

  Talia (#22)

  No I did not attend Joel Barlow High School. In the spirit of the day I was messing with you by pulling that “pet raccoon” reference from one of your posts. Now that it is April 2nd I have to confess that I have never been to Connecticut.