Before buying that one-way ticket to Mars

One of the hottest topics of discussion during recent Lunar New Year gatherings at our house centered around a newsmaker - a Chinese man who had succeeded in getting a historic trip to Mars.

Actually, he has been short listed to join the first batch of pioneers sent to colonize the red planet.

These daring men and women will live under a life dome and it all sounds like something out of the Genesis episode of Star Trek - with only one hitch.