Pack your stuff, as we are leaving for Mars. Elon Musk unveiled last month the futuristic plans of his space company SpaceX. Musk is going to build rockets to get 1 million people on Mars. In the end 2022 the first flight with passengers should leave.
It takes a while before the earth is uninhabitable, but for Elon Musk it is clear: a part of the humanity needs to move to Mars. To make that happen, he has designed a comprehensive infrastructure of rockets called ‘ Interplanetary Transport System ‘.
In the rockets can carry hundred passengers per flight. To move 1 million people to Mars, 10,000 flights have to be made. With the current design of SpaceX, each single rocket can be used between 12 to 15 times. After launch, the missile can fly back and land again.
About 50 to 100 years, the goal of 1 million inhabitants should be reached on the red planet. That number counts Musk as minimum to build a new society. Not everyone will be able to pay the travel, but Musk has indeed taken into account the affordability. Per person the trip should cost about $ 200,000.
But Musk is not the only one with this ambition. Also the Dutchman Bass Lansdorp wants to create a habitable environment on the planet with his project Mars One, but his plans are less ambitious. Mars One is a Dutch foundation that wants to establish a space colony on Mars. In 2026 the first team of four carefully selected people will arrive on the planet. However both projects offer only one-way tickets to the planet, with the sole purpose of sending only people who are well prepared for this journey.
You can respond in two ways if you read this: finish the message with “this is a complete nonsense ‘or’ this is really entering a new era.” The latter is not only plausible but perhaps the reality.
http://www.rtlz.nl/tech/1-miljoen-mensen-op-mars-dankzij-musk-is-het-haalbaar
http://www.dutchcowboys.nl/nieuws/spacex-in-2022-vliegen-we-naar-mars-en-komen-we-niet-meer-terug
http://www.nu.nl/wetenschap/3665190/twee-nederlanders-in-race-enkeltje-mars-.html
