400 Volunteer for One Way Trip to Mars...

I read an article today that over 400 people have volunteered for a mission to colonize Mars, but the trip is one way.

If I weren't married with two beautiful Daughters, I could probably volunteer for a mission like this myself. This is the ultimate adventure. But I have a few questions and some observations.

What kind of spacecraft are they going to be traveling in? I mean, this is going to have to be one HUGE craft. Think about it. Everything you will need for a minimum of 10 months of travel and probably another 10 months waiting on a resupply ship. Are they going to be taking building materials? What about a huge supply of breathable air?

Right now there is nothing on Mars, no shelter, no food, no water, nothing. It's one thing to colonize the Amazon rain forest. There are building materials and lots of wild critters to eat, but Mars is a barren wasteland.

What I don't get, why aren't we building on the Moon? Not that the Moon is any less desolate than Mars, but it is a heck of a lot closer than Mars. And from the Moon we could launch missions to other places using a lot less fuel than it takes to leave Earth. Can you imagine how far along we would be right now if we and Russia hadn't wasted all the money we have invested in the space station? We would be much further along on a trip to Mars than we are right now, and leaving from the Moon might even make it possible for the travelers to return at some point.

Please bear in mind that I am just a dumbass Country Boy so none of my opinions really matter, but if anyone cares to tell me why my ideas wouldn't work, please do...

*Update*
What do you bet that the ratio of guys to girls in the 400 volunteers is way out of whack. If it's not about 50/50, there are gonna be some problems. I'm willing to bet that right now it's more like 90/10...