Spacecraft engineering company SpaceX released plans on September 27 that, in effect, would revolutionize space travel and carry human life more than 150 million miles away to the planet of Mars. According to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, colonizing the “Red Planet” won’t be an easy task, but will easily mark a new age of human expansion.
“The enthusiasm and momentum for sending humans to Mars is higher than it’s ever been,” said Ashwin Vasavada, the Curiosity project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. “Technologically, it doesn’t seem that far out of reach. We can see a path.”
The mission itself will involve a massive rocket and capsule which will support the large number of people and cargo making the six- to nine-month journey to Mars. Musk hopes that with proper planning, the capsule will hold up to 100 people, and at most cost about $200,000.
The successful tech firm may also be just the establishment that space exploration hopefuls have been looking for in a galactic travel sponsor
“[SpaceX] makes money, thanks to contracts to launch commercial satellites as well as fly missions for NASA and the U.S. military,” said Chicago Tribune reporter Dana Hull. “SpaceX has NASA contracts worth $4.2 billion to resupply the International Space Station orbiting the Earth via its unmanned Dragon spacecraft.”
Tech-based billionaire Musk also heads up Tesla, an electric-car brand rising steadily in the vehicle market due to the cars’ prestige and unique electricity-run engine. In recent years, the cars have only gained much popularity among wealthier drivers due to their high costs, but there is now a years-longwaiting list for the newly unveiled cost-effective model.
Finally, Musk has stated on numerous occasions that the original intent of SpaceX was to provide the capital and resources to launch the journey to Mars, and going by the success of Musk’s other business ventures, the endgame, and liftoff, may be near.
