For the unaware, Elon Musk is the very, very rich founder and CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, among some other well known tech companies.
If you do know the wonders of Mr. Musk, you’ll know that he has a raging boner for space travel and exploration, which is pretty evident from the shape of his proposed rocket to Mars.
Very phallic, no?
The above image is from this morning’s SpaceX talk in which Elon announced his plan to get to and colonise Mars within the next few decades. Let us tell you, it’s as crazy as it is completely and utterly inspiring, if you ignore the part about him sending you to your death, of course.
Yep, Elon made it pretty clear that the first brave batch of Martians will very likely die in a cold, red grave. “I think the first journeys to Mars will be very dangerous,” he said.
“The risk of fatality will be very high. There’s just no way around it.” He confirmed that candidates should “prepare to die” if they apply. So if you have an overwhelming sense of adventure and a yearning to die on or en route to another planet, SpaceX has ya ticket. So metal.
“It would be an incredible adventure. I think it would be the most inspiring thing that I can possibly imagine. Life needs to be more than just solving problems every day. You need to wake up and be excited about the future, and be inspired, and want to live.”
Speaking of tickets, Elon also reckons he’s been able to reduce the price per person to get to Mars down to a semi-reasonable figure, stating that $10 billion is a “steep price to pay for a ticket”. No shit.
By utilising reusable rockets and refuelling in orbit with the right efficient fuel, it brings the price down to $200,000. Not very much bad when you consider what’s involved. The video below will give you an idea on how the trip would work.
“The rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral’s Launchpad 39a with 13031 tonnes of thrust behind it. After stage separation, the spaceships parks in orbit while the booster returns to Earth — where it lands. A propellant tanker is loaded onto the booster to refuel the spaceship in orbit for its trip to Mars. The tanker returns to Earth and the spaceships heads for Mars. The solar arrays deploy and the ships coasts out on its to finally enter Mars’ orbit. The ship lands on the Martian surface and then we get a glimpse of the astronauts looking out onto the Martian plains.”
He likened the massive drop in price to cars and aeroplanes, stating that “If they were single use, they’d be too expensive”. Makes sense. The trip would also only take about 80 days to complete, but old mate reckons eventually it will only take 30.
Eventually, Elon would like to visit the International Space Station and then go to Mars. He even has a plan in place for the company if he dies. Elon you crazy son of a bitch, we love you and your space-boner rocket.
Source: SpaceX.
Photo: Total Recall.
