

Elon Musk: Expect Details on Mars Transport System This Year

Want to head to Mars with Elon Musk? He'll have details on a transport system later this year.

January 6, 2015

Mars is currently inhabited solely by robots (as far as we know), but one person hoping to add a few humans to the mix is SpaceX and Tesla Motors chief Elon Musk.

Musk took a break from conquering space to do an "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit today, where he fielded questions about everything from his love of the Red Planet to video games.

On Mars, Musk promised details about a Mars transport system "towards the end of this year."

"Good thing we didn't do it sooner, as we have learned a huge amount from Falcon and Dragon," according to Musk, referring to the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon space capsule that SpaceX is using to fly re-supply missions to the International Space Station (ISS).

SpaceX was scheduled to blast off for the ISS this morning, and then pull off a tricky landing scenario for the rocket - on a platform in the middle of the ocean. But the mission had to be scrubbed; they are trying again on Friday.

That landing is a feat that Musk estimated has a 50-50 shot of working out, though he later admitted in his AMA that that's more a guesstimate than anything else. "I pretty much made that up. I have no idea :)," Musk wrote.

Transportation is one thing, but what to wear on Mars? "Our spacesuit design is finally coming together and will also be unveiled later this year," Musk said today. "We are putting a lot of effort into design esthetics [sic], not just utility. It needs to both look like a 21st century spacesuit and work well. Really difficult to achieve both."

Along for the ride will be "100 metric tons of useful payload," Musk said, which "obviously requires a very big spaceship and booster system."

Musk answered some pretty normal (and interesting) questions via his capacity as SpaceX CEO, including whether SpaceX might consider looking into space elevators or hybrid "air-breathing" rockets like the European Space Agency has been persuing.

"If you want to get to orbit or beyond, go with pure rockets. It is not like Von Braun and Korolev didn't know about airplanes and they were really smart dudes," Musk replied.

Part of the fun of an "AMA" thread on Reddit is to get some insider knowledge about a popular figure. For example, Musk humorously noted that "showering" was the daily habit that had the most positive impact on his life. Good answer, we think. ("No one wants to smell his natural Musk," one commenter opined.)

Musk also noted his love for the Kerbal Space Program video game, which has promptly updated its webpage with the CEO's ringing endorsement of the space program simulator. Given how much Musk likes building rockets during his work hours—or, rather, how much his SpaceX company does it—it stands to reason that Musk might enjoy a little more of a fun approach toward spaceship design in all the free time he undoubtedly doesn't have.


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David Murphy


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