Elon Musk revealed revised plans on going to Mars, leaving many asking one pertinent question: how will we pay for it?
During a presentation at the International Astronautical Congress in Australia on Friday, Musk announced that SpaceX intended to send at least two cargo ships to Mars by 2022 so that they can begin setting up power, mining and life support systems, CNN reported.
Musk also announced his aim of transporting crews to the red planet by 2024.
"That's not a typo -- although it is aspirational," he said about the ambitious timeline, per CNN.
In order to meet this tight deadline, construction of the first spaceship, the "Big Falcon Rocket" (BFR) should commence mid-year 2018.
The SpaceX mission will undoubtedly prove to be a costly campaign, however, Musk offered a vague proposal to fund the project.
"I think the most important thing I'm going to convey in this presentation is that I think we've figured out how to pay for it," he said, according to Business Insider.
The SpaceX CEO said the BFR would ultimately replace SpaceX's existing launch and spaceflight systems, explaining that all those resources would then be applied to this one system.
Musk added that the goal was to make the BFR fully reusable, which would save costs in the long run. Once the spacecraft has been developed, Musk said it would pay for itself. In the interim, he said revenue generated from SpaceX should cover costs involved in developing the BFR.
National Geographic noted that Musk intended to manufacture several Falcon 9 and Dragon capsules for which he could then sell rides to space for cargo missions.
He hoped to pour all of SpaceX’s resources into building the BFR, which should be able to transport people around the world in less than an hour or even take them to the moon.
"We believe that we can do this with the revenue that we receive for launching satellites, and of re-servicing the space station," he said, per National Geographic.
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