One Small Step For Elon, One Giant Leap for Mankind

SpaceX Mission to Mars. Source: SpaceX (Creative Commons License).

Visiting other planetary bodies is traditionally the purview of bureaucratic government agencies. However, Elon Musk is taking matters into his own hands by arranging his expedition to Mars. He plans to achieve the feat seven years before US space agency NASA does. 

Musk is doing more than just visiting Mars as he plans to colonize the planet. The most critical component of his scheme is the spacecraft that can cover the vast distance between planet earth and Mars, named the Starship. The spaceship is being built and tested in Boca Chica, Texas, where Musk's company SpaceX has production facilities.

On why he settled on Mars, Musk explains that the planet's position relative to the sun lets it get enough sunlight, but the atmosphere can be warmed up if it is a bit cold. With few modifications, Musk thinks humans can grow plants there. Day length is also close to what we experience on earth. 

The logistic challenge is staggering, but that is not stopping Musk. He estimates that an autonomous Mars community will require up to a million pioneers and lots of supporting infrastructure. The Starship is being designed to handle the requirements. It will be the most powerful rocket ever built and will transport both cargo and humans. The spacecraft will be fully reusable, and its rocket booster will have a turnaround time of less than an hour. Even fuel choice makes it ideal for trips to Mars; it uses methane, a compound that could theoretically be produced on Mars, meaning it only needs to carry enough fuel to last each leg of the trip.

 It will be the most powerful rocket ever built and will transport both cargo and humans. The spacecraft will be fully reusable, and its rocket booster will have a turnaround time of less than an hour.

 

SpaceX Colony. Source: SpaceX (Creative Commons License).

In Musk's master plan, life on Mars will begin with establishing life-sustaining elements like propellant manufacturing, food production, and power plants. He hopes the technological advancement needed to get all this together will happen before 2026, the year he is targeting to commence trips.

Space travel is costly, which is why it had remained a government effort for a long time. However, Musk wants to make going to Mars as cheap as selling your house and moving to start all over on Mars. He has established a satellite internet business, Starlink, to generate the money to build the spacecraft and other supporting infrastructure.

Any group of people will require governance, be it on the earth or Mars. Musk is volunteering himself as the governing entity. He does not accept the jurisdiction of earthly governments on the Red Planet.