SpaceX Mars Rocket Travel News: Elon Musk To Land Humans To The Red Planet In Seven Years
Visionary entrepreneur Elon Musk has unveiled his next big idea, landing humans on Mars and the Moon in the next seven years. This is after he unveiled his bold plan claimed he will put a million people on the red planet by 2060.
During a presentation at the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia last Friday, Musk fine-tuned his plans to put man on Mars. It was at the same conference held last year in Guadalajara, Mexico where Musk outlined the first step in achieving his dream of multi-planetary settlements with his plans of going to the red planet.
Musk has been known to speak frequently about his desire to go to Mars. This stems from his belief that to survive as a species, humans must be able to colonize other planets.
While his goal didn't change, his roadmap to getting there has had a few upgrades. These included revisions to a planned rocket he has nicknamed the BFR. The BFR, a humongous 42-engine rocket roughly 400 feet tall when completely assembled, is key to Musk's plans of space colonization.
Much like the Space Shuttle, the BFR rocket will be reusable. However, unlike NASA's spacecraft, it will capable of carrying as many as 100 passengers into Earth orbit.
Musk also highlighted future uses for the BFR such as high-speed transport between any two points on Earth in less than an hour and even an outpost on the Moon. Also included was a vague proposal to pay for that rocket by using it to deliver satellites into orbit and to service the International Space Station.
Ultimately, Musk's vision can only be described as an excerpt from a sci-fi movie with thousands of ships holding pattern in orbit around Earth. Then every 26 months when the Earth is favorably aligned with Mars, that fleet of ships would sail toward the planet, unfurling solar panels along the way.