The First Martian Explorers Will Burn Their Bridges Behind Them.

While sifting though the information that came out of last weekends ISDC, I came across a very unique plan for the privatized colonization of Mars. Founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation, Peter Diamandis is shaking things up again. Many of you might recall the ten million dollar reward Peter offered for the first successful privately funded space ship. Peter has a new vision, one that stretches all the way to Mars. At the ISDC he unveiled his Mars Citizenship Program. To fund the project, Diamandis plans to raise 2 billion dollars. He's laid out an investment plan where 90 thousand people would each donate $10,000. Ten thousand people would donate $100,000. And 100 people would each donate a million bucks.

Once the funding has been collected, there will be a competition among all of the contributors. From the 100,100 people, 101 will be chosen as winners and Mars mission candidates. Those one hundred will then undergo rigorous training and assessment. Eventually Peter will be left with 6 teams of twelve astronauts. Meanwhile, several unmanned spacecraft will have been sent to Mars, delivering modular habitats, supplies and construction robots. The first team of twelve colonists will then leave for Mars. Thier journey will be one way. They will leave earth behind them for good, with no plans for a return trip. These new martians will find a robotically constructed mars base waiting for them.

Those first pioneers will struggle to survive and thrive and build a new world for themselves. New teams of twelve will be sent at regular intervals until a stable population is reached. At that point humans will no longer be found on just one planet in the universe. We will have two homes; one red, one blue. The colonists, leaving on a half year 250 million mile journey with no return address, will give up all the earth has to offer. In exchange, they will gain a new world. And that will set a precedent that will some day take us across the stars. [via MarsDrive]



"Mars is wild, untamed. I'm forming a cadre of Martian knights charged with enforcing Martian law." - Captain Murphy