Going to Mars for a fee

So now that we are a little more caught up on our space history, let us refocus on the today and getting a foothold on the red planet. It should be noted that government space exploration hasn’t been asleep on the subject. If you are not in-tune with the scientific community, a simple Google search will reveal to you endeavours such as Mars Odyssey, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and of course the recent landing of the Mars Rover. But government projects tend to be notoriously slow and careful due to the fact that their budget is dictated as a political move every now and then, and without any results they will lose precious tax payer backing. Placing budget, risk, and politics out of the equation, do governments have the means to go to Mars? NASA’s former Associate Administrator Dr. Alan Stern believes so.

“Human missions to Mars could have been done as early as the 1980s, so the technology is certainly available today to implement such a mission,” he says. Dr. Stern affirms that “it’s Administration policy for NASA to send people to Mars by the 2030s.”

These are inspirational words. Though seemingly far away, it appears that the decades of the 2020-2040s are going to be filled with space explorers pursuing their interplanetary Manifest destiny as many of the private companies have plans to launch within that timeframe as well. Will there be another space race? Instead of a couple country’s fighting for spatial real estate, will the two contenders be governments versus private companies? If so, the latter will have a much needed edge.

Results require risk and taking risks leads to the possibility of failure – failure is not an option for governments. Enter the advantage of the private sector.

Recently we are seeing brave steps towards colonizing Mars by private firms. The Mars One project by Dutch entrepreneur Bas Landorp has attracted up to 80,000 people in the first two weeks for a chance to take a one-way trip to Mars. The catch? Well, it is a one-way trip. However, it is these risks that explorers need to take.

“The main way that private companies will win out is when they accept a higher risk level than governments,” says Dr. Nick Schneider, Research Associate at the Laboratory for Atmospheric & Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

He compares interplanetary exploration to the American West where settlement occurred at low costs and high risks.

[pullquote]“Things get a lot cheaper as people accept more risk, and more people die,” he said and goes on to add that “it’ll be the risk-takers who eventually colonize the planets, who mine asteroids, who settle space.”[/pullquote]

While it is true that the approach taken by governments is to aim for absolute safety, it is understandable when you step into their shoes. They do not want disasters that would ruin their image because as we recall, their funds are dictated by public opinion. Not so for the private sectors. So where are all the eccentric visionaries and secret billionaires? Everywhere.

Let us take a look at the aforementioned Dutch agency, Mars One. Their plan is to get a small team of astronauts to Mars by 2023. Being a private company, they have to meet their goals cheaply, and a one-way trip is quite cost reducing. Mars One has managed to secure major funds for their trip via sponsorship and reality TV deals. With over 80,000 applicants and only 6 people compromising of the first team, their selection process was extremely rigorous.

Jonah Berger was fortunate and skilled enough to be able to gain a spot. Picked out of thousands after having undergone many psychological tests, the idea of a going to Mars without a return ticket doesn’t faze him one bit.