Goodbye Mars dream? Firm goes bankrupt
dubai — Two UAE residents have still not given up on their dream to settle down on the Red Planet despite the company that promised them one-way tickets to Mars went bankrupt. The Mars One project took the Internet by storm in 2013 when more than 200,000 people signed up for a chance for permanent residency on the planet. Of these, 100 candidates, including UAE expats Mikolaj Zeilinski and Ritika Singh, were selected for the final round, where four were to make the 54.6-million kilometre-trip.
Now, the financial arm of the company, Mars One Ventures AG, has filed for bankruptcy. The total debt of Mars One amounts to about Dh4 million. The Mars One group expressed its intention to reach an agreement with all creditors.
Singh said: “It was a shock to hear the news, but I’m still very hopeful. I became part of the project because I was always interested in space and I’m an adventurous person.”
In a report headline ‘Goodbye Mars One, the fake mission to Mars that fooled the world’,
said: “Much has been said about Mars One over the years, with some questioning whether the whole thing was a scam from the outset, or if the people behind it were simply naïve about the challenges of going to Mars. Whatever the truth, the saga is over now.”
It quoted a damning report by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the feasibility of the mission, which said that within about 68 days, the first settlers would suffocate and die as their habitats failed.
dubai — The two UAE candidates who are in the running for a oneway trip to Mars are hopeful the plan will still follow through, despite the company behind it recently going bankrupt.
The Mars One project took the Internet by storm in 2013 when it promised humans a permanent residency on the Red Planet by 2023. More than 200,000 people globally applied — by paying a small fee — and four of them were based in the UAE.
Now, the final 100 remain, including Polish expat in the UAE Mikolaj Zeilinski, and Indian expat Ritika Singh.
Mars One group has two companies that represent the project — the Mars One Foundation and Mars One Ventures AG. The Mars One Ventures was announced as bankrupt by a Swiss bank.
In a Press release issued on February 12, the Mars One group said: “On February 5, 2019, the Court of Appeal of the Swiss canton Basel-Stadt confirmed that the Swiss corporation Mars One Ventures AG, one company of the Mars One group, is in administration. The company has a 30-day window to reverse the administration process. Mars One CEO Bas Lansdorp emphasised that the related entity the Mars One Foundation is not affected by this procedure.
“Trading of the shares of Mars One Ventures AG, listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, was suspended for non-compliance with the FSE regulations when the
number of shares was increased in 2017. The company was on its way to correct these compliance problems for the resumption of trading of the shares; these efforts were upended by the current situation.”
The statement further said that the focus of the company in the past few months has been to achieve a “reversal of the administration” or a restart based on a financial agreement with the liquidator.
“The total debts of Mars One amount to CHF1.1 million (approximately Dh4 million). The investment company has expressed its intention to reach an agreement with all creditors,” the statement said.
However, these obstacles haven’t stopped the UAE candidates from losing hope of a life on Mars.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Singh said that she paid $7 for the initial application process. Though, the amount varied depending on the location of each applicant.
“It was a shock to hear the news, but I’m still very hopeful. I became part of the project because I was always interested in space and I’m an adventurous person. I applied and I got through the first three rounds. I was getting more interested as I cleared more rounds,” she said.
However, all rounds so far have been computer-based and no inperson tests or exams with the Mars One group have been carried out.
Meanwhile, Zeilinski said: “Mars One Foundation is still working and it’s the entity that is organising the mission, this is the one hiring engineers from Nasa, and the one which is more important. Mars One Ventures was invented to be able to think about monetising techniques. If Mars One Ventures cannot exist anymore, they’ll just have to find other methods.”
The Mars One group has said that its new investor will present its plans at a Press conference on March 6.
I became part of the project because I was always interested in space and I’m an adventurous person.”
Ritika Singh, Indian expat
Mars One Foundation is still working and it’s the entity that is organising the mission.”
Mikolaj Zeilinski, Polish candidate