So, when are we going to put people on Mars?

[ultimatebob]

Elon Musk is still thinking that we'll have people on Mars by 2026:

Elon Musk is 'highly confident' SpaceX will land humans on Mars by 2026

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he is "highly confident" that the company will land humans on Mars in "about six years from now."

www.cnbc.com

Of course, Elon Musk is an eternal optimist, and he hasn't even got his new Starship into orbit yet.

When do you think that we'll finally pull this off? Please vote in the poll, and leave a comment if you think that some other company or country is going to beat SpaceX by getting there first!

 

[ultimatebob]

Personally, I'm liking the idea of a space race between China and the US in the late 2020's to early 2030's. At the rate China is growing, they should be able to pull off an engineering feat like that about 10-15 years from now.

 

[pete6032]

You know what, I've been looking at that cheese in your avatar for such a long time and always wondered what kind it was.

 

[ultimatebob]

You know what, I've been looking at that cheese in your avatar for such a long time and always wondered what kind it was.

Heh. It's a wheel of Maytag Blue Cheese, which is good stuff. You used to be able to get one at Whole Foods for about $30, but I haven't got one recently. My local cheese guy has even better stuff in stock.

 

[ponyo]

2026. Because I would never bet against Elon Musk.

Chamath Palihapitiya telling like it is. One of my favorite Chamath interview. Never bet against Elon Musk.

 

[skyking]

I'm one of the "never" votes. Why would 'we' want to?
Go ahead, take your time with an answer.

 

[ultimatebob]

2026. Because I would never bet against Elon Musk.

Chamath Palihapitiya telling like it is. One of my favorite Chamath interview. Never bet against Elon Musk.

Elon usually gets it done, eventually. He almost never gets it done on schedule, though. If he did, we could order a fully self-driving Tesla right now.

 

[ultimatebob]

I'm one of the "never" votes. Why would 'we' want to?
Go ahead, take your time with an answer.

Because Martian sunsets look kinda cool? Also, you could declare yourself emperor of Mars and nobody on Earth could do anything about it once your colony is self-sufficient.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I voted 2032. I can see it happen, but I think it's still far. The idea of it being a 1 way trip, and the logistics of making sure it's safe etc and the psychological effect of that is going to be huge. Not to mention just having infrastructure already established by the time people go. I think they will need to do tons of unmanned missions to essentially build a base with robots, before they even send anyone. They will also need to look at the viability of mining it for materials and making the construction self sustaining. So tons of mining will need to be done to mine and refine materials etc, and even, just discover them.

And that's not even getting into the idea of transforming it, if that is even possible. We can basically take care of the life on this planet, let alone make a planet that has no life become capable of housing it.

 

[skyking]

all that jawing to get to the question, "to what end"?

 

[sdifox]

Personally, I'm liking the idea of a space race between China and the US in the late 2020's to early 2030's. At the rate China is growing, they should be able to pull off an engineering feat like that about 10-15 years from now.

Err, no. Their growth rate is not sustainable.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

With the advent of robots and drones the need for humans immediately anywhere seems to be a waning dream/need.

 

[snoopy7548]

We already did, and Matt Damon nearly died because of it.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

all that jawing to get to the question, "to what end"?

Same reason we do anything else, to eat, fight, and sex. We can't keep eating, fighting, and sexing on this one rock forever, so gotta do it on other rocks too.

 

[brianmanahan]

I'm one of the "never" votes. Why would 'we' want to?
Go ahead, take your time with an answer.

because it is hard

 

[IronWing]

I think humans will get to Mars in two-three decades, possibly a joint US/Chinese mission but more likely just a Chinese effort. I don't think Elon Musk will have anything to do with the endeavor.

 

[ultimatebob]

I think humans will get to Mars in two-three decades, possibly a joint US/Chinese mission but more likely just a Chinese effort. I don't think Elon Musk will have anything to do with the endeavor.

I would think that Space-X would be supplying rockets and other materials for the effort. I highly doubt that SpaceX has the money to pull it off themselves, though.

 

[ponyo]

I would think that Space-X would be supplying rockets and other materials for the effort. I highly doubt that SpaceX has the money to pull it off themselves, though.

Elon will have the money. The hard part is not going to Mars. Elon can finance that on his own with his resources. But difficult part and what's going to require crazy amount of money is actually colonizing Mars and establishing permanent living base there. That will require trillions and Elon will need world's help with that. SpaceX, Tesla, and Boring Company will all work together on Mars to establish the living base. And that will take decades and maybe/maybe not happen in Elon's lifetime. But we're definitely going to Mars this decade and Elon will lay the groundwork for future Mars colony.

 

[Train]

We already did, and Matt Damon nearly died because of it.

Dude, after watching the end of the movie, where Damon was old and teaching... my wife literally turned to me and said "wait, was that true story?"

 

[BurnItDwn]

It will be an odd numbered year.

 

[nakedfrog]

Tesla > Edison

 

[dasherHampton]

People are most likely going to die in this endeavor.

If the entire first crew eats it halfway to Mars or dies trying to land or dies within a week of getting there will there be another one in the foreseeable future?

We already did, and Matt Damon nearly died because of it.

My favorite part of that movie was the luxury cruise liner space ship they traveled in. The real thing will have people trapped in a tin can, on top of each other for months. Psychologically unbearable, if you ask me.

 

[brianmanahan]

If the entire first crew eats it halfway to Mars or dies trying to land or dies within a week of getting there will there be another one in the foreseeable future?

same thing happened with the ocean like a zillion times and people didn't quit trying

 

[dasherHampton]

same thing happened with the ocean like a zillion times and people didn't quit trying

But we have to cross the ocean. We don't have to go to Mars.

You know what I do like? The idea of a basketball league on Mars. Guys jumping like 15 feet in the air.

 

[IronWing]

But we have to cross the ocean. We don't have to go to Mars.

Why? Nothing over there but those people, the ones with the weird names and the funny-looking hats.