Fly me to the moon,
Let me play among the stars…
–Frank Sinatra, “Fly Me to the Moon”

Richard Branson and Elon Musk are planning to travel into space in the near future under the guise of private adventurism.

Add Naveen Jain to this growing list.

“The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday that Moon Express, a firm co-founded by billionaire Naveen Jain, was approved to launch a suitcase-sized rover to the moon. Another company, Celestis, has reserved room for ashes and inert DNA samples.”
–Steven Nelson, U.S. News & World Report

Whether a rover, a commercial flight or the colonization of Mars, private citizens and their successful companies are revealing a paradigm shift that’s developing in extreme exploration.

Add movie director James Cameron to the list for oceanic exploration.

The dynamics of and success through globalization (increased customer base and, therefore, increased wealth potential and influence) is permitting a few of the craziest and most eccentric business leaders and firms to dream with their heads in the stars in a literal sense.

Given that many of the world’s most powerful economies are struggling and overwhelmed with more questions than answers, business leaders and ambitious innovators are taking advantage of their positive business ventures with inspired aspirations. Richard Branson (Virgin Galactic), Elon Musk (SpaceX) and Naveen Jain (Mon Express) are among the extreme explorers in the world today. Utilizing their winsome character, the reputations of the aforementioned dreamers attract followers nearly akin to Apple enthusiasts to the late Steve Jobs. There’s a sense that the world, in terms of space travel, is changing in a profound way and people want to be a part of this excitingly promising future.

The ingenuity, daring mentality and, perhaps most essential, the money is on the side of fun, personable billionaire private citizens.

Space travel in the 20th century was defined by the heroic crew of Apollo 11 (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins) walking on the moon, courtesy of NASA, an integral part of the United States government. “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Space travel in the 21st century will be defined by —

The smart money is with “private citizens.”