Mars One Ventures , the space startup that planned to establish a permanent human settlement on Mars in the next decade, has filed for bankruptcy.
The truth is that scientists, journalists and rocket investors insisted that the project was impossible when it was launched back in 2012. But despite general skepticism, Mars One continued with its goal for 7 years before hitting the harsh reality. .
An intergalactic reality show
The project started with the idea of placing four colonists on Mars by 2023. Using SpaceX rockets and outsourced technology, Mars One claimed that its first mission would cost just $ 6 trillion, tens of billions of dollars less than projections for NASA . But logically that meant that Mars One had to raise such a sum of money. How did a company of 4 people plan to finance a multi-million dollar space project? Easy: with a reality show .
The plan was to launch such a television show about those who would prepare to colonize Mars and which, hypothetically, would generate billions of dollars in advertising and crowdfunding revenue, which would then fund the Mars mission. Many said of this plan that it was a cosmic scam of interstellar proportions. Researchers at MIT disagreed with many of the project’s claims, suggesting that the plan would quickly kill all of the settlers.
Aspiring astronauts
Mars One claimed to have received 202,000 applications from aspiring astronauts after its launch in 2013. The numbers were inflated. In reality, he received less than 3,000.
Then when the reality show definitely couldn’t see the light of day, Mars One gave it a go with donations to keep the plan afloat . He even squeezed money out of his remaining 100 aspiring astronauts, awarding “points” for donations and telling applicants: ” If you are offered a payment for an interview, feel free to accept it. We kindly ask you to donate 75% of your earnings. to Mars One “. The less incredible.
Things are getting worse
A Swiss mobile company called InFin bought Mars One for $ 92 million in 2016, after T-shirt sales and donations brought in just $ 1 million.
Mars One claimed to have the project underway in July 2018, but numerous “finalists” in the competition to be the chosen astronauts to travel to Mars revealed the underlying scam.
InFin finally filed for bankruptcy in Switzerland in January, with less than $ 25,000 to its credit.
Mars One and its project of sending colonists on a one-way trip to Mars appear to have hit rock bottom . At least for now. If a star investor appears wanting to relaunch the mission, he could rise from the ashes like a phoenix.
At the moment, the one that does have viable programs to send manned missions to Mars is SpaceX, which plans to send the first super-heavy BFR rocket to Mars in 2024 and install a habitable base on the neighboring red planet by 2028.
Image credit: Mars One / Bryan Versteeg.
