If you’re interested in space discovery and exploration, there are three billionaires you ought to follow – Yuri Milner, Elon Musk, and Richard Branson. Richard Branson and Elon Musk are familiar names to many. Yuri Milner may not be a household name yet, but his space projects and his book Eureka Manifesto: the Mission for our Civilization are noteworthy.
All three men invest heavily in space exploration and technological development for future expansion beyond the Earth’s gravitational pool.
Yuri Milner is a scientist turned philanthropist.
Yuri Milner “re-wrote the space discovery plan” when he chose to fund efforts to explore a deep space Saturn moon. By partnering with NASA, Yuri Milner hopes to get a smaller, less expensive vessel capable of collecting life-confirming materials during a pass-by mission rather than landing a probe. Privately funded space exploration has been compared to the Magellan-era discovery of new lands.
Encouraging others is a big part of Yuri’s life mission. In his Eureka Manifesto, Yuri Milner wrote: “To explore – with our eyes and our technologies – as far as we can, out across the reaches of space and time, down into the heart of light and matter.” Through his Breakthrough Foundation, Yuri Milner encourages school-age children to think out of the box when considering the mission for civilization – learning more about science and mathematics in order to secure the future of human civilization on Earth and beyond it in space.
Elon Musk is a business magnate, an entrepreneur, an EV enthusiast, and a philanthropist.
Almost everyone who has access to digital media probably already knows who Elon Musk is. Between his donation of satellite internet technology to support the Ukrainian war effort to his bid to buy and transform Twitter, he makes the headlines every day. He also has a vision of transforming our future civilization. And, like Yuri who wrote the Eureka Manifesto to encourage exploration, Musk plans to write a book about SpaceX and Tesla. He also has a vision of transforming our future civilization.
“You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great – and that’s what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It’s about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.” –Elon Musk
Richard Branson is best known as the founder of the Virgin Group.
Branson, like Yuri Milner, is passionate about elevating life experiences for people and donates much of his wealth to such causes. He wanted to fly into space as a child, which drives his space exploration investments. His mission for our civilization includes launching the first commercial air flight service into space. Virgin Galactic has a primary mission of allowing people around the globe to experience spaceflight and all the “awe and wonder” it provides. Branson envisions space tourism in the future as technology advances and flights become more affordable.
All three men share one thing in common, even if their mission for our civilization is slightly different. They all want to encourage others to think about a future that includes living on other planets. Thinking about our future may start with funding research or writing an inspiring book, such as the Eureka Manifesto. Richard Branson admits that space flight is expensive now, but “you have to start someplace” if you want to achieve great things. And, Elon Musk is not afraid of swimming against the current if it means more people are interested in space exploration and developing their own mission for our civilization that expands beyond our planet – or even beyond our galaxy.
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