Commercial Space

^{Source: Artist’s impression of a Mars One community on Mars from MIT}

I remember the image above from Mars One and thinking that maybe the private sector could find an innovative way to beat governments to Mars. I also remember the profiles of individuals volunteering for a one-way trip to Mars to be part of the proposed Martian colony. So much for that idea. Mars One ran out of money and appears to be little more than a website at this point, where you can read the following:

In 2016 Mars One ran out of funds and was unable to continue the selection program and the technical studies. In the years after that, several attempts were made to raise additional funds, but they were unsuccessful. Despite that, Mars One has had an impact on Mars exploration by promoting the idea of permanent settlement. We, Mars One’s co-founders, are still convinced that the first crews that go to Mars should (or will have to) go there to stay.

So Mars One still believes a one-way trip is the best approach. If so, it appears Mars One did not have the secret for a very long existence on Mars. An MIT study discussing the venture said the new martians would have survived a short time before expiring as they attempted to grow their food:

As the air inside the habitat continued to leak, the total atmospheric pressure would drop, creating an oppressive environment that would suffocate the first settler within an estimated 68 days.

I am not sure how that would have helped the drive to Mars if the first spot we established was a graveyard.

So give Mars Once credit for keeping the dream alive, and even being optimistic about the technology someday appearing to make it possible, though not in time for its scheduled mission. Fortunately, it went out of business before derailing our hopes for a successful manned mission to Mars.

The recent initial public offering for Virgin Orbit, a commercial space launch company that spun-off from Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, did not go as well as planned. IG International reported that Virgin Orbit had hoped to raise $483 million as part of the public offering, but only raised $228 million. Moreover, the stock is down about 20 percent.

Virgin Orbit has already had some successfully launches from its modified Boeing 747, but the space launch industry is getting crowded and risky.

In June 2021, Virgin Orbit’s Tubular Bells: Part One mission for the US Department of Defense placed seven satellites to Low Earth Orbit – four R&D CubeSats for the US Department of Defense, two optical satellites for SatRevolution, and the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s first military satellite. You can learn more about the past and planned US Department of Defense and NASA launches here.