Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and founder, says that there is a 70 percent chance he will go and perhaps settle in Mars.
In a recent interview with Axios, a documentary on HBO, the tech executive spoke about his dream of personally voyaging toward the Red Planet and the role that Starship (formerly BFG) will play in it.
Elon Musk Is Heading To Mars
"We've recently made a number of breakthroughs that I... am just really fired up about," Musk stated. "I'm talking about moving there."
Even if he wants to come back, he, or any one of the people who want to explore Mars, do not have a guarantee that they would be able to return. The Red Planet is 54.6 million kilometers away from Earth — the minimum distance between the two planets.
Moreover, there is an incredibly high risk of dying during the months-long voyage in deep space and then when humans arrive on the barren world. Musk said that the chance of dying in Mars is so much higher than on Earth.
When the idea of Mars becoming an "escape hatch" for the rich was floated around by the host, the 47-year-old responded that the Red Planet will not likely be a holiday destination. He explained that even if people do survive the journey and then the harsh conditions in Mars, they probably spend the entire time working nonstop building a base.
That said, it would be rather costly to travel from Earth to Mars onboard SpaceX's Starship. Musk said that the one-way ticket is priced around $200,000. Still, he wants to go.
"There's lots of people who climb mountains. People die on Mount Everest all the time," he added. "They like doing it for the challenge."
SpaceX's Mars Ambition
Musk founded SpaceX in 2002 with the hopes of one day colonizing Mars. The company is still currently developing its primary rocket, the Starship, with plans to test-launch as early as 2019. The same ship will fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa and his artist guests on a trip around the moon.
By 2022, SpaceX wants to make an unmanned mission to Mars that will deliver cargo and supplies. If successful, Musk hopes to send the first crew to the Red Planet as early as 2024.
