Mars One

This article is about the defunct Mars colonization firm. For the 2022 film, see Mars One (film). For the first Soviet spacecraft for Mars, see Mars 1. For other uses, see Mars 1 (disambiguation).
Mars One
Founded2011; 13 years ago (2011)
FounderBas Lansdorp
TypePrivate organization
Legal statusDefunct
PurposePermanent Mars settlement
Location
Bas Lansdorp
Staff4 (in 2012)
Websitehttps://www.mars-one.com

Mars One was a small private Dutch organization that received money from investors by claiming it would use it to land the first humans on Mars and leave them there to establish a permanent human colony.[1][2][3] From its announcement in 2012 to its bankruptcy in early 2019, it is estimated to have received tens of millions of dollars.[4] The organization was not an aerospace company and did not manufacture hardware.[5]

Mars One consisted of two entities: the not-for-profit Mars One Foundation, and the for-profit company Mars One Ventures which was the controlling stockholder of the for-profit Interplanetary Media Group that also managed the broadcasting rights. The Mars One Foundation, based in the Netherlands, managed the project. The small organization had four employees,[6] and intended to make profits by selling media (documentaries) about the personnel selection, training and colonization.[7] The first mission was estimated by its CEO Bas Lansdorp to cost about $6 billion as of the 2010s.[7][8]

The concept had been criticized by scientists, engineers, and those in the aerospace industry as glossing over logistics and medical concerns, and lacking critical concepts about hardware. The concept had been called a suicide mission by academia, the spaceflight industry, and international news.[6] On 15 January 2019, a court decision was settled to liquidate the for-profit company, bankrupting it in the process.[9][10]

  1. ^ "About". Mars One. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  2. ^ Staff (7 December 2016). "Mars One presents an updated mission roadmap - Amersfoort, December 7, 2016". Mars-one.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  3. ^ Nnamdi, Kojo. "One-way Mission to Mars". NPR: Science. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  4. ^ Mike Wehner (11 February 2019). "The worst Mars mission ever conceived is now dead". BGR. Mars One – which is broken into a confusing mishmash of a non-profit foundation and a for-profit company – gathered tens of millions of dollars from investors who saw promise in the company's goal of creating a permanent Mars settlement. Needless to say, things didn't work out.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference TechMars was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Mars One plans suicide mission to Red Planet for 2023. 24 June 2012. Fox News. Quote: "Lansdorp says his four-person company will coordinate the launches, but it will work with suppliers for the ship and rockets."
  7. ^ a b Mars One's plan to profit from the Red Planet. Prinesha Naido, Tech Central. 26 February 2018.
  8. ^ "78,000 People Have Already Applied for a One-Way Trip To Mars". Business Insider.
  9. ^ "Mars One Ventures AG in Liquidation". Handelsregisteramt des Kantons Basel-Stadt. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 10 February 2019. By decision of 15 January 2019, the Civil Court of the City of Basel declared the company bankrupt with effect from 15 January 2019, 3.37 p.m., thus dissolving it.
  10. ^ "Mars One is dead". Engadget. Retrieved 11 February 2019. Speaking to Engadget, Bas Lansdorp said that the Foundation is still operating, but won't be able to act without further investment. Lansdorp declined to give further comment beyond saying that he was working with other parties "to find a solution."