Musk is nothing if not aspirational, and whereas his company, SpaceX, may eventually prove to be an expensive experiment, it might just be a visionary’s first step towards forever changing the destiny of our species.
The story in a nutshell
The Falcon 1 was the company’s first attempt at a (mostly) reusable rocket. Unfortunately, the first three, well, blew up. However, the successful fourth launch proved the concept that a reusable rocket could land its component parts back on Earth, thereby dramatically reducing the cost of space missions. The Falcon Heavy has made enormous strides in the effort to reduce expenditure, and to date is the cheapest weight to cost rocket ever produced. Achieving economies of scale is the first step towards Musk’s plans for future space flight.
Production will soon start on the BFR rocket, which will tower at 106m high. It will make use of the same Raptor engines as the Heavy (the most powerful engines in production) and will also be mostly reusable. The BFR is designed to successfully navigate and complete the Mars expeditions. The intention is to launch the spaceship using powerful boosters that will release from the ship after they are no longer needed, which in turn will land back on Earth unharmed.
The BFR ship will be refuelled in space, thereafter completing its journey to Mars where it will land. As Mars’s gravity is only 38 percent of the earth’s, the ship will be able to launch and return to Earth without boosters. A second round of refuelling – for the return trip – will take place on Mars as a propellant production plant will be built on the planet (the combination of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and water ice on its surface can produce both methane and oxygen).
2022 – Preparing Mars for future generations
Musk’s plan is to land two cargo ships on Mars in 2022. These ships will have two missions: the first is to confirm that the landing site has water ice nearby (needed for the propellant production plant); and the second is to deliver equipment that will be used for constructing the plant once the intrepid Martians arrive in 2024.
2024 – One small step for man, the next giant leap for mankind
In the second phase, two ships will be crewed by humans (each ship can take up to a hundred people) and two additional ships will transport more equipment. The crews have to successfully build the propellant plant – or never return home.
Criticism
Some scientists, however, are sceptical about Mars’s ability to sustain human life in the long term owing to its incredibly high levels of radiation. They suggest that Titan, one of Saturn’s moons, may be more suitable – but it too will certainly come with its own challenges.
Watch Musk’s most recent Mars settlement video here (but be warned, it runs at just over an hour long).
