Two Saskatoon men are just one step closer to go on one way trip to the Red Planet. Andrew Cooper, 23, and Justin Semenoff, 35, are among 705 people to be interviewed by the Mars One selection committee.

After Mars One, a non-profit organization based in the Netherlands, invited applications for the Mars mission last spring, more than 200,000 people applied to leave earth forever. The number of applicants was reduced to 1,058 in December and shortlisted candidates were asked to bring a medical statement of health and create a public profile on the organization's website.

Now, the interview stage has been set up for 705 of those who completed the tasks. Of them, 56 are Canadians. Interviews will be organized on four-person teams to take part in full-time training

"I will most definitely make time for it if I need to. I would never pass down an opportunity to belong to something so necessary but also so awesome and exciting", said Cooper, a third-year political studies student at the University of Saskatchewan. He grew up in Nunavut.

Semenoff is a full time worker and he has no problems whatsoever to undergo the required training. He said that he is ready to take his next step and he has figured out what all it will take to make it into the next round.

The schedule for the interview has not been revealed yet, but Mars One is in talks with media houses to show the interviews on television. The organization has promised that once the television deal is finalized and the interviews start, the whole world will be able to know the stories of the 705 aspiring Martians.

Semenoff is father of a 14-year-old son who has no problems with his father leaving the planet earth forever. On the other hand, Cooper said that his family is deliberately not giving any opinion right now about his decision, perhaps they are waiting for a yes or no from Mars One before they actually express how they feel about him leaving them forever.