Commercial space travel is about to become a reality brought about by many private companies bent on taking their earthbound successes into space. The FAA has been open to granting permits to private companies to travel into space for several years now. NASA has been working with Elon Musk's SpaceX to deliver supplies to the space station. NASA is also working in conjunction with SpaceX to facilitate the exploration and colonization of Mars. Musk has a goal to take humans to live on Mars in about ten years. It is hoped that cooperation between various corporations and NASA will lead to the colonization of Mars by 2025.
NASA is building partnerships with several commercial industry corporations including ULA Orbital/ATK and many others through programs called NextSTEP and NextSTEP 2, in order to advance the rapid development of propulsion, habitats, satellites and more. Selected companies are working in partnership with NASA, developing the technology needed for mankind to probe deep space. They will be focusing on both Mars and the space around the moon.
Elon Musk of SpaceX has the goal of beginning the colonization of Mars in the next decade. He plans to make commercial space travel and colonization a reality in his lifetime, according to The Washington Post. Mr. Musk is the mastermind behind both Tesla and SpaceX. He is one of the most brilliant minds of our time. An innovator and businessman, Elon has a track record of making dreams a reality and turning his plans into tangible results. Comparing his project to the colonization of America, Mr. Musk explains why he thinks people will agree to move to mars.
"The months-long journey is sure to be hard, risky, dangerous, difficult, [but] just as with the establishment of the English colonies, there are people who love that. They want to be the pioneers."