Mars One Files for Bankruptcy After 100 Finalists Backed One-Way Mars Plan
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 6
Mars One Files for Bankruptcy After 100 Finalists Backed One-Way Mars Plan
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 6
Summary
Mars One collapsed after failing to fund its proposed one-way Mars mission, ending a project that had repeatedly pushed its first landing target from 2023 to 2027.
No TV rights deals materialized for the venture’s planned reality-show model, and other revenue sources also fell short after even a $400,000 Indiegogo target was missed.
About 200,000 people expressed interest, fewer than 3,000 formally applied, and the group narrowed the field to 100 finalists who had expected to train for a permanent move to Mars.
The bankruptcy underscores how private colonization plans still face the same basic obstacle that stalled earlier state-led ambitions: the enormous cost of sending and sustaining humans off Earth.