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| Tuesday-Wednesday / 4-5 July 2006 | ||
Space Economy
Developing Via Entrepreneurs, Interns. In
preparation for
a robust commercial space economy, many private space firms are
taking on interns to help develop new ideas and training
the students to lead the space businesses and industries
of the future.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Mars Gravity Biosatellite Program has enlisted over 30 student
interns to help study the effects of different gravities on mammals
-- mice, in particular. Other private space firms, such as Peter
Diamandis' Zero Gravity Corporation and the 4Frontiers Corporation,
have also attracted interns, many of them with advanced degrees.
"The inner solar system economy will be about private entrepreneurs
finding ways they can go out and make a profit out in space," says
Joseph Palaia, Cofounder of 4Frontiers Corporation.
"These are passionate individuals driven by dreams, and investing
their own money." According to a recent Boston
Globe article, "The 21st Century space economy will be
driven largely by entrepreneurs taking risks to discover potential
scientific and mineral riches on other planets and asteroids."
What this means for students is that the development of the new
space economy will not be limited to scientists and engineers,
but will also require experts in tourism, mining and communications,
among other fields. As
SpaceDev Founder and CTO Jim Benson says, "If
we want to go to space to stay, space has to pay."
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