Flights to Mars, but be prepared to die
UNITED STATES: Flights to Mars will begin early next year, SpaceX boss Elon Musk has predicted, saying humans must colonise other planets before ‘‘World War 3’’.
Musk, whose company is designing a rocket for interplanetary travel, estimated that ‘‘upand-down flights’’ to the red planet should start in the first half of 2019.
During a rare question-andanswer session, he called for creative thinking as he said everything from iron foundries to ‘‘pizza joints’’ and nightclubs would be needed on Mars.
But he predicted little appetite for the first interplanetary trips, saying that like Sir Ernest Shackleton’s advertisements for early Antarctic exploration, there would be a ‘‘good chance you’ll die’’.
The US billionaire added that creating human bases on other planets could help to ‘‘regenerate life’’ on Earth if it was turned into ‘‘radioactive rubble’’ by another war.
Musk offered his thoughts on space travel during an appearance at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas on Monday.
He discussed SpaceX’s Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), which it is hoped could transport people to Mars. ‘‘We’ll be able to do short upand-down flights probably some time in the first half of next year,’’ Musk said. He made the prediction after admitting that some of his timelines had proved ‘‘optimistic’’ in the past.
Asked about the infrastructure needed on Mars, Musk said first it would be ‘‘fundamentals without which you cannot survive’’, such as power stations and blast domes to grow crops. ‘‘And then really there’s going to be an explosion of entrepreneurial opportunity, because Mars will need everything from iron foundries to pizza joints to nightclubs.’’
Musk said colonisation of other planets would help to protect humankind if another major war broke out.
‘‘Last century we had two massive world wars, three if you count the Cold War. I think it’s unlikely that we’ll never have another world war again.‘‘
He also joked that flying to Mars would have a similar appeal to the first attempts to explore Antarctica more than a century ago.
‘‘For the early people that go to Mars, it will be far more dangerous. It kind of reads like Shackleton’s ad for Antarctic explorers: Difficult, dangerous, good chance you’ll die. Excitement for those who survive.’’ – Telegraph Group