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Elon Musk: First Humans Who Journey To Mars Must 'Be Prepared To Die' (theverge.com)
At a conference yesterday, Elon Musk outlined his company SpaceX's plan to send humans to Mars. The vehicle is called the Interplanetary Transport System and it is capable of carrying 100 tons of cargo (people and supplies). Musk added that this rocket ship could take people to Mars in just 80 days. But he also reminded that the first batch of people who are brave enough to go to Mars should be well aware that they are almost certainly going to die. The Verge adds:During the Q&A session that followed, the question inevitably came up: what sort of person does Musk think will volunteer to get strapped to that big rocket and fired toward the Red Planet? "Who should these people be, carrying the light of humanity to Mars for all of us?" an audience member asked. "I think the first journeys to Mars will be really very dangerous," answered Musk. "The risk of fatality will be high. There's just no way around it." The journey itself would take around 80 days, according to the plan and ideas that Musk put forward. "Are you prepared to die? If that's okay, then you're a candidate for going," he added. But Musk didn't want to get stuck talking about the risks and immense danger. "This is less about who goes there first... the thing that really matters is making a self-sustaining civilization on Mars as fast as possible. This is different than Apollo. This is really about minimizing existential risk and having a tremendous sense of adventure," he said.
The fact of the matter is he's right. And even if they do make the trip back, the probability that they will have crippling health issues is high. Exploring any frontier was dangerous throughout human history.
What is the difference if you are not prepared? Will you fail at it?
When things get complex, multiply by the complex conjugate.
I like it so far....
I can't think of anything or anyone that would be worth sacrificing my life for....
I'd just as soon watch the Mars progress on TV and enjoy beer, Air Conditioning and less threat of death....you guys have fun with that up there!!
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
Agree that this is a good idea - and something we need to try for regardless. However, because we are a planet of many discrete nations and governments, we cannot simply issue global edicts such as "one child per family" or "no more fossil fuels" in isolation. That takes global agreement. We only need to look around to realise that we're pretty rubbish at that...
I don't know, but I got the impression that Elon has factored this into his planning. He is working on the basis that mankind is incapable of "doing the sensible stuff first", as you suggest. Instead, he is working on the premise that by the time that we realise that the Earth has been harmed beyond the point of recovery, then it will be too late to start a colonisation program. He's basically saying that we need those colonies to exist and be stable for the day that mankind wakes up and realises that the planet is doomed.
What I'm doing now is completely pointless.
I'm ok with that.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
I'm happy being the center of my pointless existence. Takes the pressure off.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.