Image of Kalpana One space settlement courtesy Bryan Versteeg, spacehabs.com

$32,000 in Cash Awards Given for Best Space-Related Business Plans — Deadline March 1, 2024

The National Space Society’s Martine Rothblatt Space Settlement in Our Lifetime Prize Business Plan Competition is now accepting submissions for its 2024 award cycle. This competition gives cash awards for the top three best space settlement-related business plans received that reflect Dr. Rothblatt’s vision for space settlement.

Dr. Rothblatt has been a pioneer in satellite communications, founding the Sirius XM radio network in 1990, and later became the chair and CEO of United Therapeutics, a biotechnology company devoted to prolonging human life. Dr. Rothblatt’s trailblazing work in organ replacement has saved countless lives and will be a key technology in creating sustainable communities in space. You can learn more about the competition, and Dr. Rothblatt’s vision—a key ingredient of a winning entry—at spacebizplan.nss.org.

“Dr. Rothblatt’s views of the future of space settlement represent a grand vision for the human expansion into space—to live and prosper—over the next century,” said Isaac Arthur, President of NSS. “Her vision includes mass migration of human beings to space habitats as well as the preservation of individual identities via digital ‘mindfiles’ that can be integrated into new bodies. We at NSS hope that the Space Settlement in our Lifetime Business Plan Competition continues to propel advanced thinking about settling the final frontier.”

This competition is not for merely an idea or a proposal, but for a complete preliminary business plan that outlines your vision and demonstrates its potential as a prosperous business endeavor that takes place in, utilizes, or leverages some aspect of cislunar space. To learn more about the parameters of a good space business plan, and better understand Dr. Rothblatt’s vision, please go to the competition website at spacebizplan.nss.org.

Cash prizes are awarded to the top three entries: $16,000 USD for first place, $10,000 USD for second place, and $6000 USD for third place. The deadline for entry is midnight Pacific Time, March 1, 2024. Entries should be in PDF format. For more information, visit the competition website.

The competition is open to anyone, of any age, anywhere on Earth (local laws and restrictions may apply). Entered business plans will be adjudicated by senior National Space Society leaders with three finalists to be announced in April 2024. The final awards will be presented at the NSS annual International Space Development Conference® (ISDC®) [isdc2024.nss.org] in Los Angeles, California on May 23-26, 2024, at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel. The competition will pay the travel and hotel expenses for one person representing each of the three winning teams to give a presentation at the conference, and judges attending the presentations will then decide the first, second, and third place teams.