Elon Musk has admitted that “a bunch of people will probably die” in the effort to reach Mars.
Speaking in an interview with Peter Diamandis, the founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation for scientific discovery, the SpaceX pioneer said “you might die, it’s going to be uncomfortable and probably won’t have good food.”
He made the admission as he chuckled at how his planned Mars mission was being perceived as “some escape hatch for rich people.”
Musk said that advertisements for the trip should emphasize that it will be an “arduous and dangerous journey where you may not come back alive.”
Although he said it will be “a glorious adventure and it will be an amazing,” Musk added that “a bunch of people will probably die in the beginning” and that "we won't make anyone go. Volunteers only."
Musk has previously said he hopes to one day live on Mars but has not specifically stated that he would be part of any early settlement missions, according to CNN.
Despite many extraordinary challenges to reach and survive on the planet, Musk said SpaceX is moving ahead with its plans to create the necessary rocket technology, because he believes that setting up a human settlement on Mars will be crucial for the long-term survival of the human species.
Musk’s space company has launched more than 100 rockets over the past decade in its attempt to bring tourists to both the Moon and Mars, with a number of the unmanned prototypes having exploded, the New York Post reported.
But he recently insisted that his company will have humans on Mars by 2026 and has discussed plans for eventually having as many as one million people on the planet.
The Daily Mail pointed out that Musk’s target date for the first humans on Mars is seven years before NASA hopes to make the same achievement.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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