# There's Now A Mars Prize!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-now-a-mars-prize/185024
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [June 28, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-now-a-mars-prize/185024 "2003-06-28T21:05:44Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)
#### Post date: [June 28, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-now-a-mars-prize/185024/1 "2003-06-28T21:05:44Z")
The [X-Prize](http://www.xprize.org/) is, of course, to see who can build the first civilian rocket to transport humans into space. Now, someone’s started a [Mars Prize](http://www.marsprize.org/) to encourage human settlement on Mars. I’m betting that it’s going to be a while before anyone claims this prize.
---
### Author:  [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2003, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-now-a-mars-prize/185024/2 "2003-06-29T00:17:48Z")
Hmm. The winner of the X-Prize gets $10 million to launch people on a _sub-orbital_ flight. The Mars Prize pays $300k to the first team to send a _manned mission to Mars_.
I doubt they’re going to get any serious entrants without a **much** larger purse…
Eric
---
### Author:  [@Sock\_Munkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sock_Munkey)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2003, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-now-a-mars-prize/185024/3 "2003-06-29T00:20:33Z")
At least it will give enough time for the interest to increase the cash prize to something worth that big an undertaking.
---
### Author:  [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2003, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-now-a-mars-prize/185024/4 "2003-06-29T08:09:35Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Santos L Halper \*
> \*\*Hmm. The winner of the X-Prize gets $10 million to launch people on a _sub-orbital_ flight. The Mars Prize pays $300k to the first team to send a _manned mission to Mars_.
>
> I doubt they’re going to get any serious entrants without a **much** larger purse…
>
> Eric \*\*
According to the [thread on Space.com’s message board](http://uplink.space.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=businesstech&Number=515899&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=1&vc=1) about this, the plans are to increase the dollar value of the prize, but no matter how big the purse, I doubt that they’re going to have any serious contenders for a very long time.
---
### Author:  [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)
#### Post date: [June 29, 2003, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-now-a-mars-prize/185024/5 "2003-06-29T13:09:17Z")
Lets see - I have this really big steel plate, does anyone have a spare habitation unit or a bunch of nukes laying around?