Greta Thunberg's climate change movement Fridays For Future has released a satirical tourism ad for Mars, which is billed as a 'wake-up call' for Earth's residents.
The ad, named 1%, was released ahead of NASA's Perseverance rover attempting its landing on Mars on Thursday (18 February).
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A voiceover says in the spoof advert: "After more than 5 million years of human existence on Earth, it's time for a change.
"Mars: 56 million square miles of untouched land, breathtaking landscapes, and incredible views."
The voice goes on to list the red planet's many selling points, including 'no war', 'no criminality', 'no pandemics' and 'no pollution', referring to the location as a 'new world where we can begin again'.
A message at the end of the clip then says: "And for the 99 percent who will stay on Earth, we'd better fix climate change."
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In the video's description on YouTube, Fridays For Future explains how the mission to colonise Mars is 'gaining momentum'.
"In 2020 alone, NASA launched its Perseverance rover, the U.A.E. launched its Hope orbiter, and China launched its Tianwen-1 orbiter and rover duo - which all reached the Red Planet in 2021," it says.
"Elon Musk has also said he's 'highly confident' SpaceX will land humans on Mars by 2026."
The movement adds that it's the 'ultra-wealthy 1%' who are 'laser focused on Mars', saying that 'most humans will never get a chance to visit or live there'.
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"With 99% of the world's population remaining on Earth, we'd better fix climate change," it says.
"We simply have no choice."
A spokesperson for Fridays For Future said the movement wanted to 'highlight pure nonsense' with the satirical tourism ad.
The spokesperson said: "Government-funded space programs and the world's ultra-wealthy 1 percent are laser focused on Mars (NASA's Perseverance Rover alone cost $2.7 billion for development, launch, operations and analysis) - and yet, most humans will never get a chance to visit or live on Mars.
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"This is not due to a lack of resources - but the fact that our global systems don't care about us - and refuse to take equitable action."
Commenting on the YouTube video, one viewer wrote: "I completely agree with the sentiment of this ad parody. However, the big problem is almost all humans think that they are going to be in the 1% that gets to go to Mars with Elon and Jeff."
Another added: "Everyone should watch this. It's a wake-up call!"
Featured Image Credit: Fridays For Future
Topics: Greta Thunberg, World News, News, mars