The True Goals of SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic

You may have heard in the news last year that Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos have become the first billionaires to get into space themselves. Whatever your thoughts on this, it marks a fascinating point in human history. In the past, the space race was exclusively a contest or collaboration of nations.

But now, private companies are beginning to enter the fray. Why this sudden change? And what does this mean for the future of space travel and exploration, now that businesses are starting to look to the stars? What might it mean for humanity’s future?

Elon Musk has always made it clear that he intends to one day see a colony on Mars, and in 2001 his company conceptualised greenhouses that might grow plants there. Any such colony will no doubt need supplies from earth, particularly in its early days, as vital equipment and personnel would need to be transported over.

Any company with the largescale capability to transport heavy weights between Earth and Mars would stand to make a lot of money. In 2001 Musk attempted to buy rockets that might start the process of getting supplies to Mars, but realised that it would be cheaper to create his own.