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“A Bunch of People Will Die” Going to Mars, Elon Musk Says

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/a-bunch-of-people-will-die-going-to-mars-elon-musk-says-160013.html

There’s been a lot of talk about how SpaceX will be sending the first manned mission to Mars by 2025, or 2026 at the latest, and how this would pave the way to colonizing the planet. Humanity needs to become a multi-planetary species, CEO Elon Musk believes, but it will come at a cost.

The space-related bit starts at around the 8.38-minute mark in the video below.

Never the one to beat around the bush, Musk admits right from the start that sending a manned mission to the Red Planet is inherently dangerous. “Going to Mars reads like that advert for Shackleton going to the Antarctic,” he says. “You know it is dangerous. It’s uncomfortable, and it’s a long journey. You might not come back alive, but it is a glorious adventure and it will be an amazing experience… Yeah, honestly, a bunch of people will probably die in the beginning.”

Still, it will be a “glorious adventure.” He says everyone involved understands that, adding that millions are willing to do it and that SpaceX is not “forcing anyone.”

“Humanity is the agent of life and we have an obligation to ensure the creatures of Earth continue even if there is a calamity on Earth, whether it is man-made or a natural calamity – if you look at the fossil record there are many mass extinctions,” Musk continued. “It is about ensuring we pass that threshold where it is self-sustaining if some calamity prevents the ships from going there.”