Elon Musk tells Kara Swisher that it would be ironic of his death on Mars

Elon Musk and his SpaceX rocket company want to send people to the surface of Mars and finally colonize the red planet.

Today, this goal seems much closer to reality than when Musk founded SpaceX in 2002. The company is currently advancing in the construction of a fully reusable launch system called Big Falcon Rocket, as well as plans ambitious mission with NASA and other experts.

The trip will not be easy – something that Musk has openly and frequently recognized.

"The first trip to Mars will be very dangerous, the risk of death will be high, there is no solution," said Musk in 2016. "That would be fundamentally: are you ready to die? it's OK, then you are a candidate to go. "

Read more: This speculative chronology of SpaceX reveals approximately when, where and how Elon Musk plans to colonize Mars.

Nevertheless, Musk left open the possibility that he himself will one day go on a mission to Mars, but not the first.

So when he appeared on a Recode podcast episode with journalist Kara Swisher on Friday, she mentioned the subject (and reaffirmed that her flight to Mars was still possible. "I do not know if I'll go there or no, "he told Swisher). .

"The last time we talked, you said you wanted to die on Mars, but not at the landing, it was a very funny joke, even though it's probably not a joke," he said. declared Swisher.

"It would be ironic if it happened," Musk replied.

Musk explained, to explain his thought, that a friend would have said: "The most ironic result is the most likely".

"I think there is some truth to that," Musk added. "And then too, I think sometimes, the most interesting result is the most likely."

Swisher joked that it could be fun if he died while hitting his head against the red planet.

"I hope that dying on the impact on Mars is not the most entertaining result (…) .It's ironic," Musk replied. "Because then what happens next? It's like, ok, you're a crater."

Swisher and he have also addressed more serious aspects of SpaceX, including the progress made on its Falcon 9 rockets, the commercial crew program to launch NASA astronauts into space, and the space shuttle. integration of reusable launch systems.

"This year has been great for SpaceX," said Musk. "We successfully launched the Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful rocket in the world by a factor of two, and we actually launched a Tesla orbit – my Tesla Roadster – to Mars."

Read the full interview of Recode here.

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