Musk plans to send 10-lakh humans to Mars by 2050
What's the story
We all are aware of Elon Musk's ambitious plan to use his company's 'Starship' to ferry humans to Mars, ultimately making them a multi-planetary species. But, even as the first Starship rockets are yet to fly, the billionaire isn't shying away from teasing what he plans for the future - a million people on Mars by 2050. Here's all about his ambitious plans.
Plans
Musk shared how he plans to build Martian mega colony
A few days ago, Musk shared a series of tweets detailing the plan to build a mega colony of humans on Mars. As part of this, he said, SpaceX plans to build 1,000 Starships over a period of 10 years - i.e. 100 per year - and use them to transport humans and cargo like food, water, building materials, tools to the Red Planet.
Information
Starship is rated to transport 100 tons at once
The humongous two-stage Starship rocket has been built to transport 100 tons of cargo or about 100 people to Mars at a time. Its passenger-ready version will be built with life support systems and other essentials to allow safe travel to Mars.
Need
Megatons needed to make life multiplanetary
Musk says the rockets would transport megatons worth of cargo/humans to Mars. If all goes according to the plan, they hope to launch at a rate of 3 rockets/day, which would mean around 1,000 flights to both orbit and Mars in one year. And when each flight would lift off with 100 tons, 1,000 would take 100 megatons or around 100,000 people into space.
Twitter Post
Here's what Musk tweeted
Building 100 Starships/year gets to 1000 in 10 years or 100 megatons/year or maybe around 100k people per Earth-Mars orbital sync
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 17, 2020
Plan
Ultimately, Musk hopes to see a million people on Mars
This way, by carrying out over 1,000 flights to orbit and Mars and sending about 100 megatons/100k people over a period of one year, Musk hopes to have a nation-sized population on Mars. Specifically, he hopes to see around a million people on Mars by 2050 - because manned flights can only take place when Earth-Mars orbits are lined-up and the planets are closest.
Added information
Anyone could go if they want, says Musk
Beyond detailing the plans for launching humans to Mars, Musk also claimed that the batch of people chosen for heading to the Red Planet won't be picked solely on the basis of their skill set. Initially, that could be a criterion, but eventually, Musk hopes that "anyone can go if they want, with loans available for those who don't have money."
Information
Plus, there will be plenty of jobs
If that is not enough to convince you, Musk says that there will be a lot of jobs on Mars. So, basically, you can head to an alien world, earn money, and pay off the loan taken for the trip. We are sold, already!
Important
Still, all of this is a long shot
While all of this sounds promising, it is important to note that this ambitious mission can only be achieved if Starship development goes as planned. The prototype of the vehicle is still in development, which needs to progress without any hiccups. After that, the company will have to conduct numerous flight tests of the vehicle to prepare it for orbital and deep-space flights.