My first blog

The first footprint on mars is the grand prize in Red Planet exploration and it will go to the “team” who can slash current price tags and trim the fat on mission planning. As of this morning, the mission price tag is $55 billion and 20 years for the first mission. Big numbers in ever changing political and financial landscapes and there are only 2 potential customers, United States and Russia who have money and know how to spend on this hobby. But, are governments capable of a long term mission? What is the bare minimum cost to walk on Mars? Can a mission to Mars be done more efficiently by another organization?

If the world was perfect and governments didn’t have to worry about global issues and changing leadership, then absolutely yes, governments are capable of long term outer space missions. But as we all know, governments have to worry about terrorism, economical issues…etc etc. To complicate matters, rarely are government leaders around for more than 10 years. Change in doctrines, are quicker than current mission estimates. The previous president of the United Stated set a goal to walk on Mars, but the current president does not value this goal and will do little to help it along. It’s impossible to finish a marathon if the race coordinators are changing the course during the race.

Along with the current mission time frame being to long, the current price tag is too high. 55 billion dollars!! Good lord that is high! It is high because NASA is a government agency. And by definition, government agencies are not known for efficiency. They are known for bureaucracy and redundancy and that inflates the price beyond what it should be. Not only is NASA in charge of the project, they want to send people there in luxury. A more efficient organization planning a no frills trip could drastically drop the price, maybe even to 15 billion.

So if the time frame doesn’t mesh with ever changing agendas and the budget is bloated by bureaucracy, is it even possible in this day and age to get the job done??

A private company or privately run non profit organization might be the answer. They would have advantages that a government agency wouldn’t have. They could specialize in putting a man on Mars and not waste time on other missions. If one source of funding ran out, they could look elsewhere. And most importantly, they can take calculated risk that government would never try. These are but a few advantages.

In the end, cost, timing and mission planners are all important. However, it’s going to take one person with will, perseverance and a little creativity to put it all together. It will be a pioneer who can utilize the current system and is not afraid to fail.