ABOVE: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, January 14, 2017
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As we face threats of extinction posed by climate change, nuclear Armageddon, and even meteorite collisions, colonizing Mars can seem quite attractive on the surface. Beyond the context of survival, becoming a multiplanetary species also fulfills humankind’s timeless desire to explore the universe and conquer the Final Frontier. For these reasons, SpaceX’s vision to send humans to Mars by 2024 should be universally welcomed and viewed as inspiration for advancing the future of humanity.
SpaceX has outlined a plausible agenda for setting up camp on Mars. The plan involves everything from reusable spaceships to self-sustaining facilities designed to produce resources such as energy, food, water, shelter, and oxygen for 1 million settlers. Notably, this is all slated to be relatively affordable, with a ticket to Mars costing approximately the median US house price.
Unfortunately, even flawless execution of the plan ...
