Traveling to Mars has always been seen as a mission for astronauts or space agencies with massive budgets. But now, a well-known NASA scientist has said something that could surprise many. According to Amitabha Ghosh, a scientist who has worked on NASA’s Mars missions, the cost to go to Mars travel is no longer as high as people think.
Mars Travel Is No Longer Just a Dream
Ghosh compared this moment in time to the period 500 years ago when some countries were discovering new continents. Back then, only a few nations had the ships and resources to explore the world. These days, space exploration and Mars trip are the new frontier. Ghosh believes that just as the world expanded centuries ago, human spaceflight is about to make our world feel even bigger again.
He said, “We are again at that corner when human space flight will make our world a bigger place very soon, maybe in 20 years.” He also mentioned that India will be one of the few countries ready to take part in this next chapter of human exploration. Space missions like Axiom-4 are not just technical milestones—they represent steps toward making Mars travel and space more accessible for more people.
With the cost of Mars travel dropping and private companies entering the scene, this once unreachable goal is now becoming a possibility for more than just elite astronauts.
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The Rise of Space Tourism
Ghosh highlighted how space tourism is now closer to reality than ever before. He explained that in the early 1900s, when air travel first started, only a few people believed it could one day become common. At that time, flying in an airplane was seen as dangerous, rare, and costly. Today, millions fly every day.
“We are at the cusp of space tourism happening,” Ghosh said. He believes that space travel is now going through a similar moment. A big part of this change has been the drop in the cost of space missions. Companies like SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, have made this possible.
“Elon Musk’s company has reduced the cost of space flight by 95%,” Ghosh said. This means that something that once cost hundreds of millions of dollars now costs a fraction of that amount.
Even more surprisingly, he said that Mars travel might now cost as much as buying a small house. “It’s probably the cost of a house, which one can afford in a lifetime,” Ghosh stated. In other words, for the first time in history, the average person can begin to dream about Mars travel—not just billionaires or astronauts. With the cost of Mars travel decreasing so drastically, it’s becoming more realistic for everyday people to imagine a future beyond Earth.
Private Companies Are Leading the Way
Until recently, most space missions were handled by government agencies. These included NASA in the United States and ISRO in India. The funding for these missions came from taxpayers. However, that is rapidly changing.
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Ghosh explained that private companies are now stepping into the field. “At some point, the private sector has to come in and they are coming in,” he said. He pointed out names like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, who are using their companies to lower the costs of space travel. This shift has allowed more innovation and faster development of new technologies, like reusable rockets.
Because of this, a brand-new sector is emerging—space tourism. In this sector, people who are not scientists or astronauts may be able to travel to space as tourists. Ghosh believes this is a key development. The more private companies become involved, the more affordable and accessible space travel will become.
When asked about whether India might have its own version of SpaceX in the future, Ghosh said it is possible. But for that to happen, the Indian market for space tourism must grow. If there is demand, then private Indian space companies will emerge as competitors to the global giants.
