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alonzofyfe
Guest
Space Prizes, Inc.<br /><br />Space, Prizes, Inc., does not actually exist. It is an idea that I had a few years back, that I thought I would throw out, just to see what happens to it.<br /><br />In the areana of private space missions, each company has had ideas on how it would make money. Some are specific to the mission -- such as selling the material gathered by a lunar sample return mission. Others have a broader use, such as carrying signatures or pages on disks, ashes from the deceased, or DNA out into space for safe keeping.<br /><br />The problem with all of these plans is that the customer has to invest in a specific mission. As one company after another has stepped forward and then faded away, this has proved exceptionally risky.<br /><br />The idea of Space Prizes, Inc., is to collect money for these types of products, and then offer the money collected as a prize to whomever first accomplishes the mission.<br /><br />Note: I believe that SPI would function best as a non-profit organization. Its purpose is not to make money, but to help promote the development of space.<br /><br />To understand how SPI would work, here is an example.<br /><br />Let us say that there is interest in promoting a private lunar sample return mission. Part of the revenue from the mission would likely come from commemorative displays using some of the material brought back from the moon.<br /><br />Space Prizes, Inc., will design these commemorative displays and make them available for sale. Interested parties will then "purchase" their displays through a contribution to Space Prizes, Inc. SPI will then put the payment into a bank account. A certain percentage of this money (that which is not needed to actually manufacture the displays) will be paid to the first team that can bring back enough lunar material to create the displays and send them off to the purchasers.<br /><br />Individuals or campanies can also purchase lunar material by bulk using this method. If a watch company, for example, w