The Future of the Race for Space

By Vincent Huston (Contributor)

A fascination for what lies beyond Earth has been present in our society for years and has surely crossed many people’s minds during their lives. Yet, people in our day and age either don’t know or don’t seem to appreciate the breakthroughs we have made in the domain of space exploration, as well as its exciting future. Already, missions to planets such as Mars have been in full swing for years and have come up with great results. Also, as telescopes, unmanned vehicles, and other technologies become more advanced, talk of exploitation of natural resources on other planetary bodies such as Europa and our moon have scientists and astronomers ecstatic.

The industry should be getting a large boost soon, since many private corporations have expressed interest in space exploration. This potentially creates a race for the cosmos that promises to be very competitive. Companies promising space manufacturing, mining, and colonization have already been founded. Good marketing has also helped, because many average people have developed a keen interest in the International Space Station due to the rise of social media. Once more, money is secured from investors and competitors, the discoveries and missions will surely be on the upswing.

A good thing about these private companies is that bureaucracy from governments can be taken out of the equation, supposedly making certain projects ten times more financially feasible than projects kickstarted by NASA. The most notable companies that are already making a mark in the industry, and saving money while doing so, are Space X, Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, and Bigelow Aerospace, who have already held tests outside of our atmosphere.