The world’s wealthiest men, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, want to make life on Mars a reality.
Musk says his company SpaceX can bring humans to Mars as early as 2029. Meanwhile, NASA officials say sending humans to Mars by 2040 will be a “bold” goal. China also has ambitions, and the country plans to establish an autonomous Mars Institute by 2038.
In Musk’s view, going to Mars is equivalent to maintaining humanity and escaping the ever-growing threats to Earth, including natural disasters and war. For scientists, Mars offers possible answers to questions such as the prevalence and diversity of life in space.
“Early Earth and Mars were twins. They were both rocky planets with liquid water, with CO2 controlling the atmosphere,” says Robert Zublin, president of the nonprofit Mars Society. “Therefore, if the theory that life naturally arises from chemistry is correct, it should appear on Mars, provided the right physical and chemical conditions.”
However, landing humans on Mars and setting Earth down means overcoming many difficult technical challenges and risks that humans have never faced before.
“The Martian landing problem is complicated. The transport problem, it’s very complicated. The radiation environment is very serious. The life support problem. It needs to be very reliable. “The propulsion capacity isn’t. You know, we were able to improve in all these areas.”
The core of Musk’s plan to reach Mars is the spacecraft, the tallest and most powerful rocket ever built. In March, SpaceX conducted its Starship’s eighth test flight. SpaceX managed to retrieve the super-heavy booster well, but the spacecraft’s spacecraft exploded, leaving behind a trace of wreckage, disrupting commercial flights. The next test flight of SpaceX’s spacecraft is expected soon.
CNBC visited Utah’s Mars Desert Research Institute to get a behind-the-scenes look at what life on Mars is like, and spoke to experts about the challenges remaining in landing humans on the red planet. Watch the video to see more details.
