NASA announced today a near-term, five-point plan to enable commercial and marketing activities aboard the International Space Station, with a long-term goal to achieve a robust economy in low-Earth orbit from which the space agency can purchase services as one of many customers. This will enable NASA to focus resources on landing the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024 as well as the first phase in creating a sustainable lunar presence to prepare for future missions to Mars. Read more for another video and additional information.
“Private astronauts will be granted missions of up to 30 days to work on commercial projects, and we might see products manufactured in space for sale on Earth. NASA is now soliciting proposals for commercial concepts, and at the Nasdaq stock exchange today, it released preliminary pricing. NASA has long considered offsetting its operating costs by commercializing the ISS. Perhaps the incentive to finally do so is the fact that private companies like SpaceX and Boeing have made advances towards commercial spaceflight,” reports Engadget.
