Mars One program and Graduate School program

Today I got an email which started with these sentences: 

"Did you know US astronaut Clayton Anderson was rejected by NASA for its astronaut training program 15 times, yet in 2007 he boarded the Space Shuttle Atlantis for a trip to the International Space Station. He proved anything can happen and no door is ever completely closed..."

Yes, my one way ticket to Mars did not get approved. So I guess I will not be one the astronauts who suppose to go to Mars in 2023. Over 200,000 people from all around the world applied to the Mars One program. In the initial round (four round totally) they chose 1058 applicants which means the chance of being in the first round is around %0.5! In the first round, of the chosen few, 586 are male and 472 are female with the majority age range between 26-35, although %10 of the pool are over 46. 
Still there is a slight chance to be part of Mars One program. They will reopen the application process again in late 2014. By 2015, sixteen teams of four individuals will be selected for seven years of full time training and eventually 4 of them (2 men and 2 women) will be selected to be the first humans who will settle on Mars. I was thinking why I wasn't one of them and thought they just needed to check my amazon account, apparently amazon doesn't offer prime membership in Mars! 

I made this graph which shows the percentage of total applicants by country (for higher quality please click on it). 

The complete criteria for choosing astronauts are here (and the main part in the table below), which I found interesting. I think in some ways this table pretty much represents the characteristics of a graduate student! These days I'm working on my resolution for the new year and I diffidently like to apply these attributes in my life on Earth. 

Five Key Characteristics of an Astronaut

Characteristic	Practical Applications
Resiliency	Your thought processes are persistent. You persevere and remain productive. You see the connection between your internal and external self. You are at your best when things are at their worst. You have indomitable spirit. You understand the purpose of actions may not be clear in the moment, but there is good reason—you trust those who guide you. You have a “Can do!” attitude.
Adaptability	You adapt to situations and individuals, while taking into account the context of the situation. You know your boundaries, and how/when to extend them. You are open and tolerant of ideas and approaches different from your own. You draw from the unique nature of individual cultural backgrounds.
Curiosity	You ask questions to understand, not to simply get answers. You are transferring knowledge to others, not simply showcasing what you know or what others do not.
Ability to Trust	You trust in yourself and maintain trust in others. Your trust is built upon good judgment. You have self-informed trust. Your reflection on previous experiences helps to inform the exchange of trust.
Creativity / Resourcefulness	You are flexible in how an issue / problem / situation is approached. You are not constrained by the way you were initially taught when seeking solutions. Your humor is a creative resource, used appropriately as an emerging contextual response. You have a good sense of play and spirit of playfulness. You are aware of different forms of creativity.