The exchange between former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on lunar mining colonies highlighted the future of space exploration as a political issue, along with Gingrich's views on the subject.
The moon is not the only destination that fascinates Gingrich. He supports human expeditions to Mars as well. But Gingrich being who he is has a unique approach on the matter.
How was the Mars Prize first proposed?
According to the Space Prize blog, the idea of a Mars Prize came up in the mid-1990s when space exploration visionary Bob Zubrin had dinner with then-Speaker Gingrich. What if, Zubrin proposed, instead of going to Mars the traditional NASA way, as a multibillion dollar Apollo-style project, that a $20 billion prize be offered for the first private group to send a human to Mars and return him safely to Earth? Gingrich expressed enthusiasm for the idea but never really pushed it during his remaining time in Congress. The idea still crops up in Gingrich's speeches from time to time, according to Space Politics, as well as his writings, according to On the Issues, and even on the campaign trail, as it did in a recent town hall meeting.
How would the Mars Prize work?
This detail is pretty vague. Presumably Congress would appropriate $20 billion and place it in a Mars exploration escrow account, with accompanying legislation that would govern exactly how the money could be won. The Journal of Cosmology speculates a Mars Prize might also consist of a number of lesser prizes, consisting of technological prototypes that would help to further a humans-to-Mars approach. These include solar electric engines, in situ resource development technologies and private robotic missions to Mars.
What are the arguments for a Mars Prize?
The cost of using the Mars Prize approach would be far less than the traditional NASA Apollo-style approach. It would rely on private competition and innovation, which would provide dividends even in advance of the actual Mars mission, to accomplish the feat of human interplanetary travel.
What are the arguments against a Mars Prize?
The problem with instituting a Mars Prize is persuading Congress to appropriate $20 billion all at once, then leaving it alone for a number of years, even more than a decade. Private groups seeking to send people to Mars would still have to raise private money to do so, a dubious prospect at best, especially considering the economic times we live in.
Mark R. Whittington is the author of Children of Apollo and The Last Moonwalker. He has written on space subjects for a variety of periodicals, including The Houston Chronicle, The Washington Post, USA Today, the L.A. Times and The Weekly Standard.
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