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Mars One is Dead (engadget.com)
The company that aimed to put humanity on the red planet has met an unfortunate, but wholly-expected end. Engadget reports: Mars One Ventures, the for-profit arm of the Mars One mission was declared bankrupt back in January, but wasn't reported until a keen-eyed Redditor found the listing. It was the brainchild of Dutch entrepreneur Bas Lansdorp, previously the founder of green energy company Ampyx Power. Lansdorp's aim was to start a company that could colonize one of our nearest neighbors. Mars One was split into two ventures, the non-profit Mars One Foundation and the for-profit Mars One Ventures. The Swiss-based Ventures AG was declared bankrupt by a Basel court on January 15th and was, at the time, valued at almost $100 million. Mars One Ventures PLC, the UK-registered branch, is listed as a dormant company with less than $25,000 in its accounts. There is no data available on the non-profit Mars One Foundation, which funded itself by charging its commercial partner licensing fees. 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."
No, the dumbest thing is to move off-earth.
It's their money to spend... and I'd rather see them building rockets instead of wasting it on Louis XIV chairs and other useless crap.
Now, where's my Tesla electric bicycle, damnit?
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Temperature concerns on mars are not as bad as Antartica. The diffuse atmosphere results in less thermal loss on the red planet.
That is one thing we agree with: that wiki page WAS just the start. There are tons of websites created by bored website programmers/tech guys who dream of escaping the human race while they watch Star Trek reruns. You guys rehash the same crap over and over again. Floating cities on Venus. Terraforming entire planets. Building cave colonies on Mars. Meanwhile our water sources are becoming increasingly polluted on Earth and the threat of climate change and pollution is real. Why not try to solve these problems instead of fantasizing about leaving it? You aren't going anywhere, you might as well come outside and help.