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Elon Musk wants to build a city on Mars – a project that would be a precursor to making the planet more Earth-like.
Wednesday, the CEO of SpaceX explained via Twitter that this city would imply “first of all life in glass domes”. The planet would be “eventually” terraformed to support life, like the Earth. “While the process of planet change would be” too slow to be relevant in our lives […] we can establish a human base there in our lifetime. “If the worst comes to the worst,” Musk explained, “at least one future space civilization – discovering our ruins – will be impressed by humans. “
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The comments describe what is perhaps SpaceX’s most ambitious plan: to send the first humans to Mars, build a city, and establish a permanent colony. No problem.
While Musk doesn’t believe humans will terraform the planet during his lifetime, he said in 2019 that SpaceX’s plan would allow humanity to “become a multi-planetary civilization as long as this window is open.”
The company is currently developing the Starship to accomplish the first step of this plan. The fully reusable vessel, standing around 400 feet tall when paired with the Super Heavy booster, is designed to send over 150 tons or 100 people into space at a time. SpaceX launched a full-size prototype of the ship in August at an altitude of 500 feet, and plans to launch even higher over time.
Its Raptor engines use liquid oxygen and methane for fuel as opposed to the Falcon 9’s kerosene-fueled Merlin engines. This means humans can land on Mars, harvest fuel on the planet, and either return home or s to venture further. New York-based Air Company released designs for such a refueling station in October.
SpaceX has confirmed that a gas station will be part of the initial base, with the ships acting as the initial habitats. Musk claimed in October that the first Crewed Starship missions could launch in 2026.
From there, the company plans to expand the base and make it self-sufficient. SpaceX engineer Paul Wooster explained in September 2018 that the initial goal would be to set up life support systems, activate surface energy, develop habitats and build greenhouses. As the city grows, it could support scientific research projects in the same way as the International Space Station. Musk has already suggested that the planet could even host pizzerias.
Terraforming would come much later, possibly after releasing carbon dioxide stored inside the planet. In August 2018, Musk shared a 1993 research paper claiming humans could free stores, walk around Mars with just a respirator, and give up the need for a spacesuit. In one of the author’s articles, Mars Society President Robert Zubrin claimed that the soil may contain enough carbon dioxide to create an atmosphere of 300 millibars – comparable to that of Mount Everest.
the Reverse analysis – Musk may never see his long-term goal come to fruition, but the vision is building excitement around Project Starship and SpaceX’s plans to improve rocket technology.
Some elements of the plan are questionable. Researchers Bruce Jakosky from the University of Colorado at Boulder and Christopher S. Edwards from the University of Northern Arizona discovered in August 2018 that Mars may only have enough carbon dioxide to create a 15 millibar atmosphere.
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma clashed with Musk in August 2019 over the plans, which could cost as much as one percent of global gross domestic product, saying Earth “needs more heroes.”
Professor of Economics Guenter Lang, addressing Reverse, also suggested that the city may find it difficult to attract wealthy Earth citizens willing to pay for the trip.
But the enthusiasm generated by the long-term proposal could help support short-term goals, like building a foundation and sustaining scientific discovery. These goals are more likely to see results over Musk’s lifetime.
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