Space & Astronomy

Elon Musk: 'Humans on Mars by 2026'

By T.K. Randall
June 22, 2014

Image: Elon Musk at the SpaceX CRS-8 post-launch press conference
Credit: Kim Shiflett / (PD) NASA Co-founder of SpaceX, Paypal and Tesla Motors, Musk has been involved in the development of several revolutionary technology concepts in recent years including the Hyperloop - a hypothetical subsonic air travel machine that could carry passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 30 minutes.

Looking to the future however Musk's focus is likely to be on something a little further afield."I'm hopeful that the first people could be taken to Mars in 10 to 12 years, I think it's certainly possible for that to occur," he said. "But the thing that matters long term is to have a self-sustaining city on Mars, to make life multi-planetary."

With a goal to land humans on Mars long before NASA, Musk maintains that the overall goal of SpaceX is the survival of humanity itself. Our species is currently too vulnerable confined to a single planet where a natural disaster could wipe us all out.

Whether Musk will be able to pull off an endeavor like this is unclear, but with Mars One and other projects potentially competing to be the first to land a human on Mars there's a chance that the next decade could see the beginnings of a fully fledged 21st century space race.

Source: The Register

Tags: Elon Musk, Mars, SpaceX