PayPal Galactic Gets a Jump on the Currency Space Race: Paying in Orbit

PayPal is getting a jump on the space race. The e-commerce business that allows people to transfer money across the globe is now taking its product to the next frontier. PayPal has officially gathered together a team of scientists to discuss how we will eventually handle our money off of our planet.

The question is certainly valid. Companies are focusing on establishing space colonies and sending astronauts to Mars. If a space colony were established on another planet, it'd only make sense that people would still have to pay for goods and services while there. The question is exactly how these people would pay.

"Astronauts who live for months in space still need to pay their bills back on Earth and for entertainment while in space," said Anuj Nayar, the senior director of communications and social media of PayPal, in an interview with FoxNews.com. "As we travel through space and explore new planets, we will still need to pay for life on Earth and out there, but how we will do this is not exactly clear."

In order to figure out exactly how space travellers might pay, PayPal has enlisted the help of the Space Tourism Society, the SETI Institute and Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin. Together, they have created the PayPal Galactic initiative, which will start to piece out exactly how people might be able to pay while in space.

"Trips to Mars, the moon, even orbit will require we provide astronauts and astro-tourists with as many comforts from home as possible, including how to pay each other," said Aldrin in a statement. "Whether it's paying a bill, even helping a family member on Earth, we'll need access to money."

The initiative is currently working on figuring out the issues associated with paying in space--and includes a lot of the problems on Earth. This covers fraud protection, hidden banking charges, identity theft and unanticipated currency swings, according to NBC News.

Needless to say, this particular initiative is being developed far in advance of the need for such a system. Even so, it does reveal how current interest in space and space travel has sparked the minds of the public and companies across the world. It's possible that far in the future, we may just be using PayPal in space and on other planets.