I love the idea of traveling to Mars. I suppose it might even be at least theoretically possible to scrape together $500K over the next ten or fifteen years. If so, I really hope that Elon Musk is correct in his boast that he could get people to Mars and back for about $500K a seat (after a few years of building up capacity at higher rates).
“My vision is for a fully reusable rocket transport system between Earth and Mars that is able to re-fuel on Mars – this is very important – so you don’t have to carry the return fuel when you go there,” he said.
“The whole system [must be] reusable – nothing is thrown away. That’s very important because then you’re just down to the cost of the propellant.
He may or may not be correct, but I love that there are people who are actually working towards that goal. Musk has previously stated his serious intention to retire on Mars, a possibility I can only hope he will make a reality. Humanity stands the best chance of success in space exploration if it is somewhat chaotic, individualized and decentralized. Precisely the qualities that do not exist in a classical state structure, one reason that space exploration by states is happening at such a glacial pace.
via Extremetech
