It’s been a dream of space enthusiasts since the first space shuttle launch over 30 years ago: Human travel to Mars via private spacecraft.  Well, Mars One, the nonprofit with the explicit goal of a permanent human Mars settlement, has taken steps to make that a reality. On December 10, the group announced that they have contracted Lockheed Martin and Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL) to develop mission concept studies.

Scheduled for 2018, the mission will be a demonstration mission and will provide proof of concept for some of the technologies that are important for a permanent human settlement on Mars.“Having managed the Phoenix spacecraft development, I can tell you, landing on Mars is challenging and a thrill and this is going to be a very exciting mission,” said Ed Sedivy, Civil Space chief engineer at Lockheed Martin Space Systems.

Lockheed’s lander will be based on NASA’s 2007 Phoenix mission spacecraft, which Lockheed Martin designed, built, tested and operated. Their lander will be able to scoop up Martian soil via robotic arm similar to the Phoenix mission. A water experiment will extract water from the Martian soil. A power experiment will demonstrate the deployment and operation of thin-film solar panels on the surface.

SSTL’s demonstration satellite will be what makes relaying the lander’s information back to Earth possible. It will also stream a live video feed from cameras mounted on the lander. Sir Martin Sweeting, Executive Chairman of SSTL said: “SSTL believes that the commercialization of space exploration is vital in order to bring down costs and schedules and fuel progress. This study gives us an unprecedented opportunity to take our tried and tested approach and apply it to Mars One’s imaginative and exhilarating challenge of sending humans to Mars through private investment.”

Mars One decided to launch the lander and communications satellite in 2018, two years later than Mars One’s original schedule. This new schedule provides time for the development for the two spacecraft and for student participation in the 2014 STEM and university challenges, with the winning entry being carried into space with the lander.

Arno Wielders, Co-founder and CTO of Mars One, said, “With our 2018 missions, Mars One brings the settlement of Mars one step closer to reality. The demonstration of water production on Mars is crucial for manned missions. The live video feed from the surface camera will bring Mars closer to people on Earth. And with the STEM education challenges and university competitions planned on our lander, we will enthuse a whole new generation for Mars exploration, even before our first crew lands.”

Unlike NASA space missions, the Mars One launch will receive no government financing and will instead be funded privately by sponsorships and exclusive partnerships. Not one to miss out on the crowdsourcing fad, Mars One also plans to launch an Indiegogo campaign, offering things like voting rights to contributors.

“Landing the first humans on Mars should be everyone’s mission and not just the mission of one country or organization” said Lansdorp. “Our 2018 mission will change the way people view space exploration as they will have the opportunity to participate. They will not only be spectators, but also participants. We think it is important to involve people from all over the world in what we’re doing, and crowdfunding and crowdsourcing activities are important means to do that.”

The contracting announcement is particularly good news for Lockheed Martin, who just last year sent notices to tens of thousands of employees warning that they could be terminated in the face of government budget cuts.

“This will be the first private mission to Mars and Lockheed Martin is very excited to have been contracted by Mars One. This is an ambitious project and we’re already working on the mission concept study, starting with the proven design of Phoenix,” Sedivy said.