How one man feels about his wife moving to Mars

Winning a trip to Mars is quite literally an out-of-this-world opportunity, but what does it mean for those you leave behind? The Mars One Project is a privately-funded mission that will take 100 people to live on the Red Planet starting in 2026.

One of those people is 36-year-old Sonia Van Meter who volunteered for the expedition. The Virginia woman is a wife and stepmom to two sons aged 13 and 11. Her husband, Jason Stanford, says he's come to terms with his wife leaving them.

In an op-ed for Texas Monthly, Jason writes that when Sonia applied for the Mars One project, the idea was nothing more than "cocktail chatter" -- but then she actually became a semifinalist for the mission and things got ugly. Not between her and her husband -- but the rest of the world.

He says she received a lot of backlash and was accused of trying to abandon her family and "seeking glory." So, Jason wrote his first op-ed for Texas Monthly in April of last year supporting his wife.

Then she actually secured a spot and things got real for the family. Jason explains, "I wasn't prepared for just how much it would change the world she and I live in, so to speak." He says came to terms with his wife leaving the family in a decade for a greater purpose.

He says, "What could be my personal horror story would become the world's grandest adventure, and understanding how this might change my life forced me to realize that Mars One could change everyone's life. If it succeeds in its mission ... it would change the history of humanity by expanding our boundaries beyond this planet. This was bigger than me ... it's time to accept my role ... We're just an ordinary married couple in an extraordinary situation, and we're taking it one small step for man at a time."

See Mars' landscapes: