A SCOTS Mars One hopeful has defended the project in the face of fierce criticism, claiming she still believes in the mission which could send her on a one way journey to the red planet.

Hannah Earnshaw, from Fort William, is one of the final 100 people competing for a place on the mission, which is due to blast off in 2024.

However, many scientists have rubbished the project, claiming there are serious concerns over the safety, technology and funding.

Earnshaw, who is studying for a PhD in astronomy at Durham University, said: "I believe in this mission and want it to succeed."

One of the main stumbling blocks for Mars One is money. It is hoping to secure a TV deal for the project but has yet to do so and its funding so far appears to fall far short of its $6 billion budget.

However, Earnshaw said she is not worried about that, claiming Mars One is in talks with a TV production company, as well as investors "looking to fund large amounts of the mission".

Following claims from a number of scientists that the competitors do not know what they are getting into, the 23-year-old added that she found it "incredibly patronising" when people suggested she was not aware of the challenges and danger.

She said: "No humans will be leaving the planet until there have been at least eight successful unmanned landings on Mars." She said "long-term life-support systems" were being developed and she has heard nothing which "implies that the project is not feasible".

"The colonist training will include three months of every year spent in isolation with our crew members with artificially delayed communications. If it is something we can't handle then we will know long before we launch."

If Earnshaw is successful, she hopes to leave behind her life, family and friends on Earth and begin a new one on Mars.

She will have some contact with Earth, but it will be difficult due to a 20 minute delay in communications.

The student said: "When I applied for Mars One, I applied to dedicate my life to the creation of a colony that will have enormous implications for the future of the human race.

"It's in many ways a monumental responsibility, a life's work much bigger than myself, and one for which I feel no qualms about the fact that it's a journey from which there's no coming back."

There are four other Brits in the final 100 - Maggie Lieu, 24, from Coventry, Alison Rigby, 35, of Kent, Ryan MacDonald, 21, of Derby, and Clare Weedon, 27, of Surrey.

Lieu, an astrophysics student at the University of Birmingham, has said she would love to have a baby on Mars, claiming giving birth to a Martian would "really funny".