Could we see humans on Mars by 2024 ? Image Credit: NASA / Pat Rawlings
Elon Musk is hoping to land the first astronauts on the surface of Mars within as little as seven years.
During a talk at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Adelaide today, the SpaceX CEO announced that the private space firm will be refocusing its efforts into the development of what is known at the moment as the BFR - a huge rocket that will stand at over 100 meters in height.
The key advantage of this new rocket is that it will be multi-purpose, enabling it to do everything from lifting satellites in to orbit to sending humans all the way to Mars.
It will even be capable of providing a 'point to point' travel system here on Earth that will make it possible to travel half way around the world within a mere 30 minutes.
The adaptable nature of the rocket, combined with the fact that it will be reusable, should help to solve the problem of affordability - something had been plaguing the project for some time.
There are even plans to land two crews of astronauts on Mars by as early as 2024 and to set up a facility on the planet's surface that could produce fuel for return trips.
Whether SpaceX will be able to achieve such ambitious goals so soon however remains to be seen.
They need to revolutionize the way payloads are brought to orbit, only then will we really open up the solar system to human habitation. Placeing tons of sensitive equipment on top of a blow torch is not what I call efficent, safe or effective over the long term.
Why doesn't he fix starvation in parts of the world people die everyday living in crap and his goal is Mars lol what's wrong with this world! Jesus send me to Mars.all that money could be used to make the world we live in a better place
There's always some one that makes this tired, ill conceived point , as if mankind is only capable of fixing one problem at a time or rich people throwing their money at a problem will make it go away. Here's an idea, if world starvation is that important to you (and good on you if it is) then why don't YOU give up the time you currently spend making poorly thought out comments on internet forums and dedicate that time to a charity. The problem with this world is the number of people complaining that SOMEONE ELSE should be doing something about the problems, whilst doing nothing themselves. If... [More]
Well I don't have the means to make such efforts as people like musk does.why try make loads of crap happen when the world we already live in needs help?
He may well try .... I know NASA will not try something so illogical and stupid ( although they might say they will to maintain public interest and funding )
Perhaps you never noticed this, but innovation is what makes the world a better place. We are where we are because throughout history, both literally and metaphorically, people have wanted to know what is over the horizon. I might be wrong, but added to the innovations Elon Musk and his team have made - practicable electric cars, for instance - and the thousands of tax-paying jobs created, I bet he gives away a big chunk of his fortune before he dies.
We will never fix what is wrong with the earth. There are too many different governments, religions, beliefs, etc. To get all of them to get together and do something constructive would be an act of futility. Not to mention getting about 8 billion people to work together. If there are people like Musk who are willing to spend time and money on exploring space then I say let them do it and we should back them however we can. I believe that exploring space is a part of our destiny.
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