MarsDrive

Every journey starts with a single, small step and while we understand that we are far from our goals at this time, we press on with the knowledge that with hard work, community involvement and determination, anything is possible.

Our plan can be summarized in one sentence- “If we want to go…then we have to do it ourselves”. It involves not just a future potential for space travel but also the creation of a true solar system economy.  Most early space tourism will be restricted to only the very wealthy with prices for tickets ranging from $100,000 U.S right up to $100 million for Moon tours. Most people don't have that kind of money. At MarsDrive we understand this and have decided to do something about it. We want to be a non profit space organization that encourages research and development into space travel technologies in return for a real stake of ownership in the emerging new private space industry.

From opportunities to boost your career through our scholarship program to our small grants and space development fund we will ensure ongoing member benefits to help break through the barriers that hold us back from cheap and reliable access to space. We also understand that government investment will be needed at various stages and will approach this massive effort with a “combination” of private and government investment.

If you would like to know more about what we are offering new members please visit our member page. Quickly detailed below are some of the stepping stones we will be taking on our drive to space and Mars. It explains what we will be doing and what the “BIG” picture is-

At MarsDrive we will be helping-

• Build the market
• Build competition
• Build credibility
• Build a space economy

• Building the market

One of the biggest problems facing the new space sector is a lack of demand for their services, and with lack of demand comes a lack of investment. If demand remains low for decades to come, then Mars will only ever be reached by national agencies like NASA. None of us will get to go and settlement of Mars will be postponed for decades. Along with efforts and funds from the private or government space sector we aim to provide one of the missing pieces- NGO research and development funding.

This will be accomplished through our focus on popularizing space (via online games and exclusive media content) and building market demand for space transports through providing some members with first hand experience of space travel as a result of  our pooled research/development funds for space business and research partners. Low earth orbit tourism may not seem like it has much to do with Mars but in fact it has everything to do with it because from small beginnings we can build a market economy to afford greater advances into space.

• Building competition

Stimulation of competition means that through our small grants and infrastructure development fund we will be able to ensure a variety of space companies enter the market as providers, and with a growing number of space travel providers (based on growing demand) costs for personal space tickets will go down more rapidly than if we had a monopoly situation. We will also be able to forge valuable partnerships with a wide array of competent technical teams which will prove crucial for later Mars mission and settlement plans. Demand and competition are not the only factors needed for a viable space economy though.

• Building credibility

But won’t this type of focus take decades anyway? And while we are pursuing cheaper orbital tourism prices won’t Mars be left out of our plans? How can such projects as efficient orbital space transports and Mars missions BOTH be developed at the same time? Using the experience and knowledge gained in the first decade of incremental steps the emerging private spaceflight sector will then have a much more attentive audience from private investors and government clients to fund development of Moon bases, mining and Mars missions.

This may include support for the construction of orbital ship building docks and refuelling stations with fuel production facilities on the Moon. Also, when we speak of “we” this is a partnership of commercial space companies and capable non profit space organizations and researchers. The MarsDrive plan is not going to be conducted in isolation to the space community but rather as a complement to it. With the above infrastructure in place cheaper space access moves a step closer to reality.

• Building a space economy

Under this plan where the cost of space flights is substantially reduced, parallel efforts for deep space missions and settlements can also be designed and implemented. With cheaper transports to planets like Mars available a Martian settlement will become economically viable in a much more rapid time frame than the “wait for big space agencies” approach. As the private sector begins to send ever greater numbers of tourists into space a favourable investor climate will be created which leads to the achievement of all the above steps.

Affordable space travel: It currently costs around $20,000 a kilo to launch mass into space. If these costs don’t get brought down, private space settlements will remain a fantasy. Elon Musk of SpaceX fame stated last year, “At this point, even if there were packages of purified crack cocaine orbiting up there - it wouldn't be economically viable to retrieve them. Cost of transport is too huge," he said. NASA may continue with scientific exploration of space, but the private sector will remain locked out.

So cheap and reliable space access is our common goal. If the rockets are cheaper, Mars becomes viable for the private sector. But rockets will never become cheaper if we continue taking all our fuel with us into space and if there is no demand for their services beyond what we currently have. With 100% reusable space vehicles and orbital refuelling facilities operational and by rapidly increasing market demand we can bring the cost of space access down.

Living in space: Following this plan means settlements in space and on Mars can begin be established after the second  decade as a result of the space infrastructure established in the first 10 years IF we gain sufficient support. The alternative is to lobby governments for decades with no guarantee of results. At least this way we are taking charge of our own future in space. After the first 10 year phase we will have the technology and support of the wider public and investor markets (far more than today), and in that climate even a private Mars mission and colony starts to become much more attractive.

In return for our research and development investments we will be forging partnerships where our own members receive direct benefits including full access to whatever space infrastructure MarsDrive may have a stake in. This will serve to spread the popularity of space travel to a wider segment of the market, and will signal to investors that there is a demand for space travel. We believe that only by providing people the actual experience of space travel will its popularity spread. Once this begins private space companies will begin to take off- literally.

MarsDrive will be forging partnerships that offer this organization and its member’s full access to all areas of space. Via our research and development funding we will have helped make possible humanity’s first steps as a space faring civilization. It’s a massive and long term undertaking – and we want you to be a part of it, after all, “It’s not just a scientific endeavor- but a human one”. Once this begins private space companies will begin to take off- literally. Together we can achieve space, the Moon and Mars- Within our reach- within our lifetimes