ESA’s Rosetta probe has made history as the first to orbit a comet, and is set to reach another landmark in space travel if it can successfully land on comet 67P. The Rosetta mission hopes to find information on how comets are affected by the sun, and maybe even to discover if it is possible that life on earth could have been created by a comet hitting the earth.
While the Rosetta mission has been active for over a decade, interest in space travel is receiving more and more press, and international competition in space has spawned a new iteration of the space race, with China’s lunar landing, and Russia’s planned expedition to the moon in 2030. However, this time the players aren’t limited to government ventures, but also venture capitalists.
Billionaires Richard Branson and Elon Musk both have separate space ventures in Virgin Galactic and SpaceX, respectively, and according to results from 1World 84% think private companies are better suited than governments to improve space travel.
Despite the renewed interest in space travel, people are having serious doubts about the feasibility of Mars as a potential Earth colony. Colonizing Mars has long been a staple of science fiction books and movies, and NASA has even developed a saucer-shaped craft to attempt to land on the Red Planet.
Although we have been making serious developments into the final frontier 59% don’t think Mars will be successfully colonized, and 53% would consider travelling to Mars despite the 500 day flight (that’s a lot of in-flight movies). Check out the world map below to see where people are most interested in taking a trip to Mars.
What’s your opinion on space exploration? Should space be a global priority or is it a waste of money? Voice your opinion below, or click on any of the poll images to share your opinion.