President Trump’s audacious ambition to push U.S. astronauts to Mars in coming decades has been heralded as an opportunity to radically advance mankind. With the help of Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, people have started to speculate about the prospects.
Today, Musk revealed that it will cost $1 trillion and take roughly 60 years to establish a colony on Mars.
In an interview with SpaceX shareholders and reporters Musk said he wants to make sure that NASA, NASA-funded research and government support makes the plan work.
Billionaire Musk believes a colony on Mars “is going to be a catalyst for humanity to become a galactic civilization.”
Musk, a South African-born technology innovator, is only 37.
Asked if he felt he was too young to launch a Mars mission, Musk responded with a zinger.
“No, because I get paid to do this,” he said to laughter.
“And if I’m not paying for this, someone is. It’s going to be after I die,” he joked.
Musk has proposed using reusable rockets to drive down the cost of spaceflight and is likely to repeat the strategy with future transport services.
He said the air used on the Mars missions will be the same oxygen produced by Earth’s atmosphere that helps support life on the planet.
He also is collaborating with NASA on a mission to Mars called InSight. The InSight capsule and lander are due to touch down in California’s Mars Desert on November 26, according to NASA.
“It’s really rare when a dream becomes reality,” Musk said.
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