WATCH: Elon Musk Says He Will Land A Human On Mars in Five to Ten Years
SpaceX founder Elon Musk has set a five to 10-year window for landing a human being on Mars.
“When do you think SpaceX will land a human being on Mars?” Lex Fridman asked Musk on the latest edition of the Lex Fridman Podcast.
“Best case is about five years,” Musk replied. “Worst case is about ten years.”
Musk then expanded on what needs to happen to achieve the five-year goal. “It’s fundamentally engineering the vehicle,” Musk explained. “Starship is the most complex and advanced rocket that’s ever been made by humanity. It’s a lot. It’s really next level.”
Musk also touched on the financial aspects of landing a human on Mars. “The fundamental optimization of Starship is minimizing the cost per ton per orbit and ultimately cost per ton to the surface of Mars,” he said.
“This is actually the thing that needs to be optimized. There is a certain cost per to do the surface of Mars where we can afford to establish a self-sustaining city and then above that we cannot afford to do it. Right now you can fly to Mars for a trillion dollars,” Musk continued. “No amount of money can get you a ticket to Mars. We need to get that to something that is actually possible at all.”
Musk said the first ever Mars landing needs to be different than the 1969 moon landing. “We don’t just want to have, with Mars, flags, and footprints and then not come back for a half century like we did with the moon. In order to pass a very important great filter we need to be a multi-planet species.”
The Tesla CEO said he believes right now is the best time to land a human on Mars. Musk concluded:
“Earth’s been around four and a half billion years, and this is the first time in four and a half billion years that it’s been possible to extend life beyond earth. That window of opportunity may be open for a long time and I hope it is, but it also may be open for a short time. I think it is wise for us to act quickly while the window is open.”
Watch above via Lex Fridman Podcast
