Commercial Martian Exploration and Development

Commercial Robotic Planetary Exploration

How Commercial space exploration is possible

Why Martian Tourism is Possible?

What & who would Martian Tourism and Tourists be?

Introduction

I'm Not a big fan of Mars.

Mars does have potential over the next decades.

Mars can be a money maker.

Mars can be a tourist destination.

Commercialization of Space Exploration

Space Exploration is just starting to get commercialized

Government space exploration and development is vital

There is an important place for private space exploration that has yet to be found

NASA Could Use Private Exploration

Great achievements in Human exploration have been exhibited in the past with government backing.

Christopher Columbus is an example.

You just need a big enough NASA prize.

Filling in the Details

NASA would be the pioneer.

Martian X-Prizes with government backing can take care of all the smaller details.

Private Martian Exploration will be cheaper.

Commerical Robotic Exploration First is the First Step

Once commerical robots have paved the way then more advanced commerical missions will follow.

Human commerical missions can follow a lot sooner then you might think.

The Mars Society Mission Logo

The Mars Society can be directly involved in unmanned space exploration and development.

The Mars Society can do a lot more then it is now with government backing, admittedly over a long period.

The Case of Admiral Byrd

Admiral Byrd was one of the foremost explorers of the 20th Century.

He did his first three missions without government backing

Expedition - 1

Admiral Byrd's learned to fly in the US navy during the first world war.

After flying in the Arctic in 1926 He went to Antarctic exploring in 1928-30

Privately Sponsored Exploration

The first major expedition had two ships and three aircraft and was sponsored by private companies.

The US Government was not involved.

The Expedition Was Profitable

Sponsorship of the first Antarctic Expedition, despite its relatively massive scale for the 1920s was profitable.

The exploration system was repeated

Massive Private Expeditions

Admittedly an expedition to Antarctica in the 1920s is nothing compared to an expedition to Mars, unmanned or manned.

Expeditions Relatively Similar

But the wealth of humankind is far greater in the 21st century then it was 80 years ago during the great depression.

Commercial space exploration has a place in the world.

This is another sector where the Mars Society could be involved directly eventually

The Mars Society has the motivation and the leadership do do it if they want to

Martin Tourismis Possible SoonerThen youThink

At first I was not very enthusiastic about Martian tourism.

Mars is too far away and too dangerous

Mars is also rather boreingWant to visit Mars? Go to

Northern Canada.

Mars Has Some Things to Offer

Mars can put your name in the history books.

Thats what space tourists are doing now.

Mars can make you someone better then you were before.

Mars Madness

Some people are crazy about the red planet.

Mars is a whole new world!

Mars has played a part in human culture for the last 130,000 years.

As soon as it is possible it will happen.

Mars is a Nice Place

“you'd hate it on mars, its dry its ugly its boreing” Sharon Stone, Total Recall

I agree, Mars is not as exciting, or beautiful or exotic as the Moon.

More expensive and more dangerous.

However, thats not all true.

Mars has Martian Beauty

Mars does have some great visiting locations

Mars will have a sense of being in another dimension.

Parts of the canyons.

View the top of the Olympus Mons.

Mars Holidays Will be Formative

Climbing Mount Everest is often described as a formative experience

After a person climbs to the top of the mountain they think they feel like a better person for the rest of thier life.

Mars Will be a long Pilgrimage

In the past people have gone on religious pilgrimages to the holy land that took years,

They felt that traveling to a wonderful place made them better people allround as well.

Space Adventures Passengers

Orbital space tourists have expressed the same kinds of feelings as Mountain Climbers and Religious Pilgrims.

Pioneer Martan Tourists will need the same funds.

The world will be a richer place.

The Possible Mars Tours

What will be the tours?

What will be the conditions?

What ships will be used?

What should they cost?

What should be training /selection for the tourists?

What is the risk?

The Three Kinds of Mars Tours

The flyby Mars tour, for the hardcore pioneers, questionable.

The pit-stop Mars visit, Massively more difficult but only for a week or two.

Then private martian exploration missions similar to Admiral Byrd's

Mars Tourists Wont Find it Easy

Traveling in microgravity alone is tough.

Traveling isolated from the rest of the world for many months will be tough mentally.

Traveling on the surface could be very tough.

Mars Cruise Ships

Safety First!

Simple as possible.

Cheap as possible.

Reliable as possible.

Manageable as possible.

Ergonomic as possible.

Reusable as possible.

Mars Tourism Mucho Deniro

The first handfull of flights will be very pricy.

Prices will go down slowly for a number of reasons.

Competition between multiple Mars Travel Agencies is a must.

Mars Tourist Training

Tourists dont need to be fit enough to climb mount everest.

There needs to be a few months training.

Mental and physical fitness is a requirement.

Training will continue during the space cruise.

The Chances of Ending You Life

Martian Commerical Development will be riskey.

Everything is riskey to some degree

There is no such thing as luck. There is only adequate or inadequate preparation to cope with a statistical universe. Robert Heinlein