Speaking at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico today at 2:30PM ET, Elon Musk will unveil his plans for making humans a multi-planetary species. As part of the plans, it’s widely anticipated that the billionaire entrepreneur and CEO to SpaceX will also provide an inside look at how the company’s new Raptor engine will be able to transport humans to Mars.
Colonizing Mars will require more than sending a manned spacecraft to the Red Planet – something Musk looks to achieve within a decade. During the one-hour long presentation titled “Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species”, Musk will discuss the “long-term technical challenges that need to be solved to support the creation of a permanent, self-sustaining human presence on Mars,” according to program notes for the event. SpaceX has been recently spotted testing its Dragon crew capsule which it will eventually use in an unmanned mission to Mars as early as 2018.
Despite SpaceX’s ambitious plans to have humans set foot on on the Red Planet by 2025, experts believe the year-long 140 million mile (225 million kilometers) flight to Mars would not only require a major feat of engineering and budget – something SpaceX may not be able to afford on its own – but also have a great impact on human health.
According John Logsdon, former director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, via Phys.org, “It’s unlikely that (Musk) will be able to get humans on Mars by 2025. You’re talking of tens of billions of dollars and SpaceX doesn’t have that type of money.” However, despite the skepticism, “it’s exciting to have someone with the vision” and “we are all interested to see what he has in mind and whether he can make a compelling case,” Logsdon added.
Watch the live stream (above) as Elon Musk and SpaceX reveal their plans on how to make humans a multi-planetary species.
