Cheapest way to fake the Mars landing

Darmstadt, Germany, current day: All ESA members meet on super secret meeting. They had it enough with NASA and want to claim their first place in space. How do they want to do it? Landing manned mission on Mars first!

"Err... Do we have money for that? We have to bail out Greece first." Says the German colleague.

"That's right. But still, we can fake it for just few bucks, right?!" asks someone.

So, the question is: What is the minimum amount of money (in EUR) to successfully fake Mars landing?

• Target "landing": 2020.
• Target audience: Everyone, excluding tinfoil hat freaks (and they will not believe even the real landing...)
• Target duration of hoax being believable: 2040 (at least 20 years)
• In other words: All the politicians involved in the hoax want to be re-elected.

One big handvawe: Everyone involved in the process agrees with the fact, that ESA is going to fake it. They just want to hear Ode to Joy from space for a change.

Bonus points for elaborate guess how many people do I need being involved.

Keep in mind: This is ESA/European mission only. So if you need specific place to fake the landing, you have to find such place inside Schengen Area. Faking the landing at Atacama dessert is no-no.

Winning criteria: Cheapest plan

posted about 9 years ago

Pavel Janicek‭

6 reputation 38 0 1 0