Mars Colonization Project Awards First Supplier Contract

Mars One, the organization with the purpose to establish a human settlement on Mars in 2023, made a concrete step towards that goal by contracting its first aerospace supplier, Paragon Space Development Corporation(R), for a core component needed on the Red Planet. The contract lets Paragon perform a conceptual design study as the first step towards developing life support and space suit systems for the Mars One mission.

"The first human mission to land on Mars is going to be one of the greatest stories of our generation," says Mars One co-founder Arno Wielders. "Mars One will achieve this goal by maturing existing technologies that have been under development by the aerospace industry for decades. Signing Paragon as a supplier signifies a shift into the engineering and technical phase of our program, and brings us a major step closer to our goal."

During the study, Paragon will identify major suppliers, concepts, and technologies that exist today and can be used as the baseline architecture for further development. The ECLSS (Environmental Control and Life Support System) will provide and maintain a safe, reliable environment for the inhabitants, providing them with clean air and water. The Mars suits will enable the settlers to work outside of the habitat and explore the surface of Mars.

Gary A Lantz, Paragon Program Manager adds: "Our approach is to assess existing technologies with input from established industry experts, such as spacesuit manufacturer ILC Dover, and to define an achievable baseline architecture for the ECLSS and Spacesuit System. Paragon will build on its 20 years of experience performing similar work for customers such as NASA and major aerospace prime contractors."

In a press release, Bas Lansdorp, Mars One Co-Founder, said: "Though much of the technology needed to enable a manned mission to Mars exists today, the process of maturing it to flight readiness is laden with obstacles. At Mars One we thoroughly believe in the feasibility of our manned Mars mission, but we are well aware that the mission's success is also dependent on securing finances to facilitate technological progress. We are, therefore, grateful to sponsors, donors, and other partners from all walks of life that contribute to our ambition to land humans on Mars in 2023."

Mars One is a not-for-profit organization that will establish a permanent human settlement on Mars in 2023 through the integration of existing, readily available technologies from industry leaders worldwide. Unique in its approach, Mars One intends to fund this decade-long endeavor by involving the whole world as the audience of an interactive, televised broadcast of every aspect of this mission, from launch to landing to living on Mars.