Mars One is a private project to land 4 humans on Mars for permanent settlement in 2023, to be followed by 4 more every two years. The amount of money raised so far isn’t hugely impressive (about $60,000 in donations plus whatever they make in merchandise), but the lists of sponsors and advisers are.

Mars One has a list of vendors to provide all the necessary equipment for the mission, and according to a recent report the first of them–Paragon Space Development Corporation–has already started work on a conceptual design of the life support and space suit systems.

I wouldn’t place any bets yet, but it’s an exciting step.