Slashdot Mirror
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."
Yeah you wouldn't want to be "stuck on a rock in a gravity well". Space Nutters are like robots. What does "gravity well" mean? Why are they bad to Space Nutters? Mystifying.
The best Space Nutters always talk about building floating cities on Venus. I'll tell you what: you show you can build a floating city here on Earth first. Then we will talk about doing it in Venus which is about 1,000,000x harder than on Earth.
I hate to break it to you Space Nutters: there is only one civilization and it is here on Earth. You aren't going to anywhere. You will have to live with the common people like me. Sorry to hear you guys don't like it, but it isn't going to change and you aren't special. Your space fantasies are narcissistic. You should help us improve living here on Earth rather than dreaming of leaving it.