Adam Minter, Columnist

The Space Race the World Needs Is Finally Starting

Elon Musk wants SpaceX to become the first private company to complete a mission to Mars, but he has competition and that’s good for everybody.

July 25, 2022 at 10:30 AM UTC

By Adam Minter

Adam Minter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of sports. He is the author, most recently, of “Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale."

Travel to Mars? Why not?
Photographer: Christophe Petit Tesson/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

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Elon Musk probably took it for granted that his space exploration company would launch and land the first private space mission to Mars. If he did think SpaceX had cornered the market, though, he doesn’t anymore.

This week, two space startups announced an audacious plan to send a lander to Mars in late 2024. The technical hurdles are high. But even if the mission fails, it will create something important and lasting: a space race between private companies, not nation-states.