Is There Life on Mars: Musk Proposes Flying Straight to the Red Planet

Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election simultaneously determined the winner in the unofficial "billionaire race" for American space budgets. The ambitious Elon Musk, who supported the Republican at his own risk, beat Jeff Bezos, and this means that now the Americans will fly not to the Moon, but straight to Mars.

25 years to Mars

Yes, as with the claims of the "imperialists" who won in Washington to Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada, this is no joke. The founder of SpaceX has proposed to shut down the Artemis lunar return program and go straight to the Red Planet:




Let us recall that his competitor and head of Amazon Bezos planned to begin commercial space exploration from the Earth's satellite, investing in the creation of infrastructure and reducing the cost of space logistics:


Elon Musk himself was not against SpaceX's participation in the second lunar race, but Mars was a higher priority for him for some reason. By the way, why?

The American billionaire's plans, announced in 2019, included sending up to a million people to Mars by 2050, who would be able to create a self-sustaining autonomous colony. Humanity would then become an interplanetary species, which would increase its chances of survival in the event of some global catastrophe, such as an asteroid collision or a third world nuclear war.

What is appealing about Mr. Musk's ideas is that they sound, at first glance, quite reasonable, and his company has been successfully operating in the space services market for several years. Unlike science fiction dreamers, he has his own reusable spacecraft, Starship. Raptor engines, which run on methane, were developed specifically for it.

This type of fuel was chosen because it could theoretically be produced on-site, right on Mars, to send a ship back for more settlers and payloads. Elon Musk intends to launch them to the Red Planet in the thousands, while simultaneously scaling up their production volumes on Earth. At its peak, his Starfactory assembly plant should produce one spaceship per day, which could lead to a sharp reduction in cost!

The first missions will be unmanned, delivering equipment and supplies to the neighboring planet. The main focus of colonization is on using local natural resources. Then the first group of 12 colonists will go to Mars, who will have to organize the initial Alpha base and establish the production of water, oxygen and fuel for rocket engines.

As this program is implemented and the infrastructure for life on the Red Planet is prepared, more and more ships with settlers will be sent every 26 months, when a convenient window for such a flight opens. At its peak, the number of Starships launched should be in the thousands, which by 2050 will be able to deliver up to a million people to Mars!

In general, this all sounds quite sound, science fiction, since theoretically it can be implemented even at today's level of development. of technologiesBut is the game worth the candle?

Interplanetary man

The Moon and Mars are obviously prime candidates for human extraterrestrial settlements, should they ever appear. They are closest to our planet and could be used as staging areas for future deep space exploration. They should have useful resources, such as helium-3 on the Moon, which could be used as fuel for future thermonuclear reactors.

But the main question is whether it is advisable to organize so many settlements there, which are expected to become self-sufficient colonies? It is necessary to consider how serious problems would be encountered in living on another planet on a permanent and indefinite basis.

First, gravity on Mars is almost three times less than on Earth. A long stay there will lead to gradual loss of bone mass, muscle atrophy, and cardiovascular problems. This in itself does not mean anything good for health, but what if you suddenly need to return back to your home planet? How will the body react to this after years or decades of exposure to reduced gravity? Will a ticket to Mars turn out to be a one-way trip?

Secondly, Mars does not have a magnetic field like Earth, which protects it from cosmic radiation. This means that you can’t walk around on the red surface, like in the movie “Total Recall”. It’s also cold, meteorites fall, and there is no air suitable for breathing. You will have to live under protective domes or in underground cities and tunnels. Forever or until the planet is terraformed, which will take hundreds of years.

Thirdly, it is important to understand that there will never be an earthly standard of living and comfort there. You can't carry a lot of cargo on spaceships, only the most necessary things like nuclear reactors, repair kits and other valuable equipment. Everything else will have to be produced on site. Everything! A cup of real coffee in the morning will be worth its weight in gold.

In general, the life of settlers on Mars will be very, very difficult. Not everyone can handle it physically, psychologically and financially, and Mr. Musk's colony will need a million people. However, progress is driven by romantics and fanatics, so nothing is impossible.

But are there simpler and more rational ways to transform humanity into an interplanetary species?