September 21, 2050 - At a
press conference today it was announced that
the first tourist heading for Mars will be the
38-year-old US businessman Patrick Clifford.
He will leave the earth in the launching
window of fall 2052 and set his foot on the
surface of Mars in February 2053, together
with the other 6 astronauts assigned for the
mission to further explore the planet.
Patrick has now two years of training ahead
of him to get ready for the trip. Not only
will he spend five months in getting to Mars,
but another 600 days there before he can go
back home. Patrick was of course very excited:
"This has been my dream since I was four, and
seeing the first man on Mars 20 years ago made
me realize that it was possible."
To be able to pay the US$ 1.3 billion for
his ticket for the trip Patrick sold his
majority stake in the business empire his
father had built. "I know that my father would
have been proud of me if he had still been
alive today, he knew what this means to me",
says Patrick. There is no risk though that you
will find Patrick begging in your street
corner when he comes back, rumors says that he
was paid twice as much for his part of the
company.
So, how is he going to spend his 600 days
on the red planet? "Well, since I don't have a
job when I get back after selling the company,
I have plenty of time to come up with a new
business idea", he says and laughs. If he
brings a shovel he can start building the
first hotel there, but maybe he shouldn't
expect too many guests until someone can offer
a lower transfer fare.
