Elon Musk Unveils Ambitious New Details For Mars Colonization
HAWTHORNE (CBSLA) — Elon Musk's mission to colonize Mars is underway.
The SpaceX founder and CEO unveiled some of the details of his grand plan to make life possible on the Red Planet in a presentation in Australia Friday.
"It's about believing in the future, and thinking about the future rather than the past. And I can't think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars," Musk said.
Supporting the creation of a permanent, self-sustaining human presence on Mars. https://t.co/kCtBLPbSg8 pic.twitter.com/ra6hKsrOcG
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 29, 2017
Musk says he wants to spend two cargo ships to Mars in 2022 to find water, resources, and get infrastructure in place to support life. He aims to send the first SpaceX mission to Mars with people by 2024.
The rocket he plans to use for getting people to Mars got a lot of attention as well. Musk says it's a redesigned spacecraft that can be reused and will have a common area, a galley, and a solar storm shelter for 100 passengers.
BFR is capable of transporting satellites to orbit, crew and cargo to the @Space_Station and completing missions to the Moon and Mars. pic.twitter.com/p9staho4VZ
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 29, 2017
But even before it exits the atmosphere, Musk says this rocket could revolutionize travel on Earth.
"What if you take that same ship and go from one place to another on Earth? You can get to most long-distance places in, say, less than half an hour," Musk said.
That rocket could, for example, take travelers from Los Angeles to London in 32 minutes, for the price of an economy airline ticket. The trip by plane takes 10 hours.