Billionaires often use their money on a variety of different things, and in most cases, on their own special pet projects. However, in the past few years, we have seen many billionaires get on board with space exploration projects and start to use their own money to explore space in different ways. Many billionaires are developing new methods to get to space, explore space and take everyday people to space. Here are a few billionaires using their wealth to further scientific discovery and space exploration. 

Elon Musk

Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, is one of the most well-known billionaires looking to push the limits when it comes to space exploration. Mr. Musk is working on the Mars and Beyond program, in which he hopes to explore the planet Mars in less than ten years. He believes that if there is life in outer space, there is a good chance that life may be on Mars, based on what we know about the planet and its conditions. He is building a spacecraft that can help his team of researchers reach Mars and explore it quickly, helping scientists learn more about the planet itself and what possible lifeforms may be present there.  

Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos, the owner of Amazon, is another well-known name looking to push the limits of space exploration. Mr. Bezos made history when he went into space as part of his Blue Origin project. The Blue Origin project is Mr. Bezos’s idea to find a way to develop space tourism. The work he is doing is designed to help launch everyday people into outer space so they can get a glimpse of a place that few have been able to travel to before. He is also working to develop space stations that are similar in concept to hotels, where people may one day be able to travel and vacation. 

Yuri Milner

Yuri Milner is yet another billionaire working hard to further scientific discovery and space exploration. Yuri Milner wrote Eureka Manifesto: the mission for our civilization. The Eureka Manifesto lays out why it is so important to learn about the universe and whether there is life outside of Earth, and he puts together a plan for getting answers to these fundamental questions. Unlike other billionaire space programs, Yuri Milner is focused on finding other life forms in space and developing unmanned interstellar travel, rather than launching himself, or other billionaires, into space. 

Richard Branson

Finally, Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin, is using his money to develop the Virgin Galactic program. Much like Jeff Bezos’ program, the Virgin Galactic program is focused on space tourism. Virgin hopes to develop a spacecraft that can launch individuals into space, so they can see places that many never thought possible. The idea of opening housing communities or vacation spots in space is also being tested with the Virgin Galactic program. Richard Branson has successfully traveled to space himself and hopes to one day make space travel available to everyone. 

Yuri Milner, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Richard Branson are just a few of the most prominent names looking to push space exploration boundaries. They are using their own money to help develop a craft that can take us to parts of space that would normally take decades or centuries to reach, helping to find potential new life forms in outer space, and helping to find ways to bring humans out to outer space.