[ycmbntrthrwaway]

I don't even feel like I take major part in IT industry. I just do my work, publish some research, contribute to some open-source projects etc. I may even get some great ideas at some point that will change something globally, but it is impossible to change the whole world for one men. Yet I follow HN and it is of value to me that other people create great things almost every day.

The same is true for Mars. I am almost sure I am not going into space in the next 50 years. Yet it is of value to me that someone goes into space or lives on Mars during my life. I would really like to see news from Mars, how people are doing there, what they invent to make their life better there etc.

Putting this into money is what Mars One [1] project proposes. They plan to raise money by putting their project on TV, because almost everyone would like to see how someone else is doing on Mars, even if not helping directly or participating in the project.

I think the original idea goes from chapter "Might have been" of the "Machinery of freedom" book [2]. There David Friedman proposed the same idea, just the goal is less ambitious: Mars is substituted for Moon.

[1] http://www.mars-one.com/

[2] http://daviddfriedman.com/The_Machinery_of_Freedom_.pdf