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#1 Re: Human missions » Privately Funded Mission--Get On With It! » 2006-09-17 13:45:54
I'd just like to isolate this one part of the topic of fundraising and pledges:
Lots of money if you are talking about several million donators. Cash money, not paper pledges, cash. Where will you get this money from?
. . . Say two million names, addresses, telephone numbers, email information, and pledge amounts . . . it only has to be entered once, and an email can automatically be sent reminding them to renew their pledge every year. There's no reason it couldn't be handled by one person through one computer, with the information stored on DVDs, so if that person is a volunteer your only data costs are the web site, the computer, professional versions of the required software, and perhaps special security measures to keep spammers from getting the info. . . . Once again, you've identified a problem that doesn't exist.
I have modest experience with fundraising -- I volunteered to help my former private high school raise +$1 million in less than a year -- and so I understand that your fundraising idea can seem like a good idea, but it really is -- or should be -- a bigger deal than an email database. If you're aiming for the big money, though, here's some basic ideas on how to run a much more successful fundraising scheme:
--- If you're going to email people about their pledges, send out a semi-personalized email at least every quarter, to keep the issue in the pledgers' minds and give the program a consistant money flow. Another way to use email would be to send out a monthly mass-mailing -- more of a newsletter really -- that informs the pledgers about how their already-donated money is being used, keeps readers interested in donating more money, and gives them a little entertainment.
--- For pledgers who have or will donate a more significant amount of money, send out a mailing via the regular postal service. You get a LOT more money by snail-mailing your pledge reminders to people who are most likely to give you the most cash. This part of the program would require more targeting of the audience, because of course you wouldn't want to waste stamps on people who likely won't send you money. And be sure to update your address list as needed
--- Keep your project in the public eye. This includes having your own website with all the latest news, working with other magazines/newspapers/websites/etc. (in this case, perhaps working with Ad Astra, Popular Science, the major newspapers and newsmagazines, and other space-related websites). Have some sort of presence at conventions; even having a small booth staffed by a volunteer or two can make a difference.
--- Hold in-person fundraising events. This might sound crass, but the people who give away the most money enjoy showing off. Feel free to exploit this tendancy by hosting auctions, raffles, and other socially-oriented fundraising events. Try hosting your events at a country club, or other prestiegious place. Allow the wealthy to have fun, and they'll be glad to help however they can.
--- Charitible trusts: Wealthy people will create charitible trusts for tax purposes, which requires they donate a large chunk of their wealth upon death. It will be up to you to convince these people that your program is worthy.
To summarize, creating a successful fundraising program would indeed require more than an email database. How much gets donated is affected by how much work gets put into the program, which will be up to you.
#2 Re: Human missions » I had ENOUGH! Project Pegasus is now... » 2006-09-16 23:44:09
You might want to look into the company 4 Frontiers, website at http://www.4frontierscorp.com/ . Their stated mission is "to utilize the economic potential of current and upcoming space frontiers -- Earth Orbit, the Moon, Mars and Asteroids -- to establish an economically viable settlement on Mars". (source: http://www.spaceagepub.com/ArticleArchi … 821_2.html viewed 9-17-06)
Their short-term plan is to build a Mars settlement replica on Earth, to serve as both an educational research, and likely business base. I don't know how big they will grow, but they've been hiring employees and they seem to be the most serious for-profit company out their working on Mars.
Anyone here know more about 4 Frontiers?
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other postings by kaci m:
SpaceSet.org - good idea for outreach?
Totally commercially funded "Mars Direct"...
#3 Re: Human missions » Totally commercially funded "Mars Direct"... » 2006-09-16 23:07:52
Although I agree corporate sponsoring can raise a chunk of the cash for a Mars mission, there just isn't enough worldwide interest to have corporate sponsors take up the whole $6-, $35, or however many billions for a private Mars trip.
My premiere comes from the Olympics; It's an event watched by the majority of affluent countries in the world, providing spectators with the deep psycological need to watch one's country beat another country's butt. Countries and companies clamor over being allowed to cater to the Olympic games and the athletes in it. According to the official Olympics website (link below), corporate sponsorships made up about a third of the $4 billion dollars in collected revenue between 2001-2004, which comes out to $1.34 billion over that time period.
(source: http://www.olympic.org/uk/organisation/ … dex_uk.asp viewed on 9/16/06)
A Mars mission, while exciting for us, will not be as large a spectacle as the Olympics. There will be worldwide excitement when the spacecraft launches, but for as far as anyone knows, the rest of the trip could very well be rather boring... no competition, maybe no new Earth-shattering discoveries, and hopefully no drama or serious injuries. And then the astronauts will come back safely, and then who will sponsor the second Mars mission?
Companies like to sponsor events that will get their company noticed, and thusly give them a large return on their investment. Again, I and a lot of other people would be thrilled at a Mars mission, but that's not enough people to have corporate sponsors cover the whole cost of a Mars mission. However, it could still provide a nice little chunk of support, and I support any efforts to make a Mars program happen 
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Other recent postings by kaci_m: SpaceSet.org - a good idea for outreach?
#4 Re: Youth Group / Educational Outreach » SpaceSet.org - good idea for outreach? » 2006-09-16 22:31:08
Hello all. I've been checking out the web for Mars- and space-education outreach projects, and I came across the website for the International Space Settlement Design Competition for high schoolers. Does anyone here know about this organization, and any ideas how people could help? Thanks.
kaci m
#5 Re: Human missions » NASA's Moon Mission » 2005-09-16 00:15:08
I don't know if this has been posted anywhere on here, but Space.com has an article about the upcoming Moon plan from NASA (article at http://space.com/news/050914_nasa_cev_update.html).
Most of it sounds good, and they seem to be borrowing Mars Direct's "living off the land" concept. However, they are attaching a rather high price tag to the project ($100 billion over 12 years), and, it seems, they will be using the Moon mission to "justify" the Crew Exploration Vehicle's existance, post-ISS:
Once the Earth departure stage and lunar lander are safely in orbit, NASA would launch the Crew Exploration Vehicle capsule atop a new launcher built from a four-segment shuttle solid rocket booster and an upper stage powered by a single space shuttle main engine.
The CEV would then dock with the lunar lander and Earth departure stage and begin its several day journey to the Moon.
So, if I'm understanding this correctly (and, mind you, I may not be), The Crew Exploration Vehicle will be used to transfer astronauts from Earth onto the in-orbit lunar lander. Seems silly and redundant to me. The only explanation (excuse?) they could be thinking is that it's for the safety of the astronauts. However, during the Apollo program, none of the missions destined for the moon blew up going into orbit, so why would this one? And who's to say the Crew Exploration Vehicle couldn't blow up either?
This smells like it will be a pork magnet to me. And, of course, the politicians will be aghast that the project had gone overbudget after having so much pork added. What do you all think?
#6 Re: Human missions » 4Frontiers » 2005-09-09 16:24:36
Public outreach? That won't help anything. People are either already interested or they are not.
I do agree with your assessment that people are either interested or uninterested in space exploration/colonization, HOWEVER, I do believe that a good chunk of people in developed countries have at least have a passing interest in space. The problem is, the space community needs to get these people aware of us, get them active in the various societies, and make them give their emotional, political, financial, etc. support.
Public outreach would be, in my opinion, the best way to fish out the biggest chunk of interested, useful people, and then use these energized people to empty out either their own pockets, the pockets of a rich corporation, or the pockets of their respective governments. It's a lot more useful, and has a lot more revenue potential, than posters commenting on "Martian Socialism and Terraforming: Built-in social backlash?".
The best policy is to see if a law can be passed to have a 'Space Day" holiday where every channel must be forced to carry some NASA story.
There would probably be some silly First Amendment argument against that if that law was proposed. Besides, you can have the same effect if you just hooked up Angelina Jolie with Michael Griffin 
(i'll applaud anyone who can set that up, by the way).
That or my 'blackmail the congresscritters' idea.
It beats playing house on Devon Island.
Yes, well, the congressmen could always do what that govenor of New Jersey did and just tell the public about their scandalous activities. As for Devon Island, I think in a few years it should be placed in a museum, or just moved to Australia, which the Mars Society was planning to build a station at anyways. Or locate it in Palm Springs.
#7 Re: Human missions » 4Frontiers » 2005-09-09 13:52:37
I'm all for any effort that intends to actually get us to Mars rather than just talk about what it should be like. This might seem like an overgeneralization, but it seems that most of the people in the space activist community are far more interested in discussing, for example, the future space currency or the future colony political structure rather than the basic things like financing or public outreach. If 4 Frontiers is a serious effort, I welcome its existance and hope it succeeds.
I am still a little wary of 4 Frontiers, though: Their idea of building a public outreach center that's also a Mars simulation is admirable, but they need to explain how they can get financing for even that effort. Are they praying for a money Angel and hoping he/she comes soon?
Personally, I think that for the money they would need for the public outreach center, it would be easier to finance, design, build, and market an educational-yet-fun PC game and market it to both schools and the general public (like a mix between Oregon Trail and SimCity), but that's just my gut feeling. I'm looking forward to seeing what these people come up with.
#8 Re: Human missions » Against the Human Exploration of Mars if Everyone can't go. » 2005-08-30 15:03:49
Everyone can eventually go to Mars, just not all at once. The first people who will go to Mars will obviously be people who are able to contribute most to whatever is needed on Mars (likely people trained in science or mechanics). Given the small size of the initial spacecrafts (and food supplies), the first crews will be people who are selected to be the most competent and in the best physical health. This, like every other successful exploration effort, is to ensure the survival of the crew and the success of the mission, and any compromise in this would make the mission fail, or, worse, cause the death of the crew, thus probably stopping every other Mars mission from happening.
As time goes on and an infrastructure is built up, other members of society can go too, if they either have enough money, educate themselves in skills that other colonists would find valuable, and/or form a group that can raise the funds for the trip. This is how the New World was populated; Traders, people skilled in making or repairing tools or other goods, the families of those involved, religious groups, and, yes, even impoverished peoples such as the Irish and the various Asian groups eventually were able to settle and thrive in the Americas.
In the end, I imagine the only people who couldn't go to Mars would be those who are physically unable to make the trip or those unable to come up with the money to go to Mars, either on their own or through a government and/or private sponsorship. I expect a wide variety of people from all walks of life to eventually populate Mars, not because they were selected for their different ethnicities/backgrounds by some politically correct "somebody", but because they simply wanted to and so found a way to make it happen.
-KCM
#9 Re: Space Policy » Idea - Infiltration » 2005-08-30 14:21:57
*The best infiltration is exposure, obviously... As I've stated before, I wish the MS would create a small pamphlet for distribution; perhaps 7 pages with a few illustrations, outlining the basic plans/objectives.
Hi everyone! This is my first post here. Trolls, please don't eat me
I created a small, letter-sized Word brochure that (very simply) talks about Mars Direct and why we should go to Mars. The text is mostly lifted from the first chapter of "The Case for Mars" by Zubrin and a Powerpoint presentation on the Mars Society's website (http://www.marssociety.org/content/presentations.asp), but I've added a bit about the potential economical & industrial benefits of Martian exploration. You can find my little brochure here : http://www.geocities.com/moonfrontier/M … ochure.doc
I make no claim as to the accuracy or ownership of anything in my brochure. I aimed it at American politicians or other people who could help getting Mars Direct into action, but don't care to learn about the technical aspects. I intentionally left out any mention of terraformation because I didn't believe it would . Feel free to edit it any way you like - just so long as you use it to get us to Mars 
In doing this brochure, I became aware that there isn't a logo for the Mars Direct effort itself. There's a nice logo for the Mars Society, yes, but, in my opinion its visual references to robotic exploration and terraforming don't have much to do with the current goal of getting an extended human exploration/science presence on Mars. I thought of a cheesy logo of human figures rising from the red planet ( http://www.geocities.com/moonfrontier/M … t_logo.JPG ) but I'm sure someone else can do something more eye-catching.
Also, maybe the Mars Society can host a web site that simply explains what Mars Direct is to the average person? It doesn't need to be much, just 4-5 separate pages detailing the proposed process, its cost, its benefits, its more technical aspects, an FAQ section, etc. A pleasant-looking, well laid-out site that we can direct the public and/or people in power (politicians, potential sponsors, etc.) to visit. Add a link to the Mars Society's main page at the bottom, along with information on how to get a copy of "The Case for Mars". Also, maybe add a forum catergory for Public Outreach, since I don't think either Political or Educational Outreach quite fit with, bluntly put, what I see we need to do.
Thank you all, and I look forward to your imput!
- KCM
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