{"id":6057,"date":"2014-01-15T18:26:13","date_gmt":"2014-01-15T18:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6057"},"modified":"2014-01-15T18:26:13","modified_gmt":"2014-01-15T18:26:13","slug":"mars-one-crowd-funding-campaign-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6057","title":{"rendered":"Mars One: crowd-funding campaign update"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mars One<\/a> urges participation in their Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign<\/a>. They are currently at $172,533 towards their goal of $400,000 with 11 days left in the campaign.<\/p>\n

Space Exploration for Everyone<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amersfoort, 15th January 2014<\/strong> – For the first time in the history of humankind, economical participation in space exploration is a reality. With Mars One\u2019s recent launch of a crowdfunding campaign, it\u2019s now possible to send a personal item to distances far beyond your wildest dreams. For many, the Mars One mission is the gateway to a new era in man\u2019s historic reach for the stars.<\/p>\n

For about 50 years, government organizations have been funding and managing space exploration across the globe. Government run exploration, funded by public monies, has provided limited access to most citizens of those countries. In the last few years, private organizations such as Richard Branson\u2019s Virgin Galactic and Eric Anderson\u2019s Space Adventures have made space exploration possible for the mega-rich. A flight with Virgin Galactic 68 miles above Earth goes for a cool $250,000 while the potential 2017 flight to the moon from Space Adventures is rumored to cost an astronomical $150 million. There are others in between, but none as accessible as Mars One. Bas Lansdorp, co-founder of Mars One, has set his sights on involving the everyday man and woman in space exploration.<\/p>\n

In April 2013, Mars One opened the doors to the masses by providing an open application process for the potential crew that will fly to Mars in 2025 to establish the human settlement. The response was overwhelming, with more than 200,000 people world-wide applying. Lansdorp is not shy about future promises to continue the trend. \u201cFrom the beginning, this has always been humankind\u2019s mission to Mars!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mars One Foundation took another step toward this goal on December 10th, when they launched a crowdfunding campaign<\/a>. The campaign, hosted by non-profit crowdfunding leader Indiegogo, is aimed at bringing Mars One and their goal of human settlement on Mars to the masses. Crowdfunding campaigns provide any person a chance to contribute financially to an organization\u2019s fundraising efforts in exchange for what are called perks, or gifts created by the campaign owner. The perks included by Mars One provide what Lansdorp calls, \u201cthe first steps to affordable and accessible space exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n