Is there life on Mars? Well, there may be soon enough if Inventor, Entrepreneur, and Billionaire Elon Musk has anything to say about it…
Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with the goal of one-day enabling humans to be able to live on other planets! Seems he is ready to release his plans on how exactly he plans to colonize Mars within the next couple decades. Currently, we don’t have a ton of specifics on his plan, but as of tomorrow, Sept 27th, we hope to have most of our questions answered! At the global space conference in Guadalajara, Mexico, Elon Musk will sit down and explain the vehicles, technology, and everything else needed to build this long-term settlement he envisions.
Musk has been an outspoken advocate for putting men on Mars for years, arguing its necessity for human survival, although many say the timing of this conference and announcement are a bit awkward for SpaceX. Their most recent Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launch pad and is now SpaceX is land-locked while they figure out what caused this explosion.
What do we know so far?
When it comes to Musk’s plans, we don’t know much of anything just yet, but we certainly do know he has a sense of humor. He’s aptly named the rockets being used “BFR’s”, an acronym standing for “Big F***ing Rocket” while the Spaceships these rockets will be carrying have been named the BFS’s. (We think you can figure out that acronym at this point.)
He’s also revealed the basics of SpaceX’s Raptor Engine as well as the Cargo Routes that will be needed. He’s also revealed the basics of SpaceX’s Raptor Engine that will power these BFR’s, as well as the Cargo Routes that will be needed for supplies for colonization.
What don’t we know?
Well, not much at all! The question of how these BFS’s will be fueled and refueled on their way to the Red Planet has been the subject of fanboy speculation. Some have tossed around the idea of a separate vessel launched to refuel the rocket.
Musk also has commented “You want to bring the spaceship back”, which has provided many people with many questions of how exactly he plans to do that! These same people also agree that if anyone were to figure out how to accomplish this ridiculous task, it would be Elon Musk.
Most importantly, we are wondering how is he going to be able to create a habitat that will keep people alive? Most experts agree that, eventually, the inhabitants will have to live off the land to some capacity, seeing the complications and difficulty of providing colonists with proper food and water for an extended amount of time such as this. Scientists agree that either crops must be grown from transported Earth soil, or Musk must develop a way to clean Mars’ soil, seeing as Mars’ soil has been known to contain salts that are toxic to humans.
A True Space Oddity
We have a lot of questions unanswered and in the words of Musk himself, “I think it’s going to sound pretty crazy, so it should at least be entertaining.” Maybe all of our questions won’t be answered tomorrow, but this is a huge announcement and we don’t envision this speech being something you want to miss!
