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Elon Musk Says There's a '70 Percent' Chance He'll Move to Mars:
Elon Musk has talked about personally heading to Mars before, but how likely is he to make the trip, really? Well, he just put a number on it. In an interview for the Axios on HBO documentary series, Musk said there was a "70 percent" chance he'll go to Mars. There have been a "recent number of breakthroughs" that have made it possible, he said. And as he hinted before, it'd likely be a one-way trip -- he expects to "move there."
The executive also rejected the idea that traveling to Mars could be an "escape hatch for the rich" in its current form. He noted that an ad for going to Mars would be "like Shackleton's ad for going to the Antarctic," which (though likely not real) made clear how dangerous and the South Pole journey was. Even if you make it to Mars, you'll spend all your time building the base and struggling to survive harsh conditions, Musk said. And while it might be possible to come back, it's far from guaranteed. As with climbing Everest, Musk believes it's all about the "challenge."
The interview is available on YouTube.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by edIII on Tuesday November 27 2018, @12:34AM (2 children)
Until, like TMB pointed out, the rich people stop sending supplies. I'm pretty sure when ol' Elon is controlling the access codes to the oxygen tanks, and communication channels to/from Earth, that the village may decide it is best to do what he says. You mention that violence won't be needed, but violence has always been needed to fend off oppressors. Not too many villages survive attempts to subjugate them, hence nations and armies are required.
This isn't Earth either. That village will most likely be heavily dependent on Earth for a few generations at least. Until you have sizable underground populations, and local vs terrestrial source for air, water, and basic materials, you will require a good relationship with Earth. That really translates into how happy Elon Musk's board members and shareholders are.
All of this assumes a privatized exploration of Mars. Why wouldn't the world governments simply take all that way from Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, the moment a viable human habitat was demonstrated?
Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Tuesday November 27 2018, @01:10AM (1 child)
Who the hell would go under those conditions? You would need to be stupid.
On Earth. There is going to be no-one external to the settlement, so any oppressors are going to be internal, and it is not hard to make a tiny minority come to heal without actual violence.
Oh absolutely. And yes, they will need to make sure they continue to be supplied.
Good point. Why indeed?
(Score: 2) by pvanhoof on Tuesday November 27 2018, @03:23PM
Lot's of people buy hard -and software from vendors and/or have accounts on Cloud services and/or social media firms that control pretty much their entire life. Lot's of people are stupid.