Humans are going to have to settle for living on Earth, for the time being, as the company that announced a mission to Mars four years ago has reached the bottom of its financial barrel. Swiss newspaper Landbote reported a notice from the Civil Court of the City of Basel in Switzerland that Mars One Ventures, a British company that a Swiss firm acquired, filed for bankruptcy Jan. 15, declaring $25,000 in its bank account.
Media outlets such as CNN, The Washington Post and BBC could not stop raving about the project that would send people on a one-way trip to Mars. The company claimed that it would send a series of robotic missions to Mars to set up the hardware and supplies before human arrival. When Mars One stated in 2012 that it would send 100 volunteers to Mars and resupply them by cargo missions from Earth, scientists posed numerous questions. The biggest concern the public had with the mission was the return of the settlers. Mars One stated that the volunteers would remain on Mars since the company did not have the technology to return them to Earth. Two years later, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s feasibility report stated that the settlers would suffocate within 68 days after colonization as their habitats failed.
Another major problem was the funding of the project. Bas Lansdorp, Mars One founder, claimed the project would be self-funded through a reality TV show. The premise of the show would involve the volunteers enduring rigorous training before the mission to Mars. The company referenced the $3.8 billion that the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver generated for broadcasting rights.
The mission’s impracticality and Mars One’s lack of funding prompted many people to believe that the venture was a scam. Joseph Roche, one of the volunteers selected for the mission, said, “You get points for getting through each round of the selection process, and then the only way to get more points is to buy merchandise from Mars One or to donate money to them.”
According to Forbes, Mars One claimed that more than 200,00 applicants had volunteered for the mission, which Matter’s investigation could not verify.
After the hype of the project settled, scientists broached the flaws in the project. Experts estimated that the project would cost hundreds of billions of dollars. Apart from the exorbitant costs involved, two MIT graduates stated that Mars One’s technology was not mature for the plan to work and would require more money and spare parts than the mission claimed.
Although Mars One declared bankruptcy, Lansdorp claims the project is still alive since the company is working with an investor to find a solution. He also stated that the bankruptcy involved Mars One Ventures AG and did not affect the financial position of the Mars One Foundation, the driving force behind the mission, according to The Verge.
To find out the technology that Mars One proposed to send to Mars, check out this article about Lander.