SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's Mars colonization mission has been officially unveiled at the recent International Astronautical Congress which detailed his engineering plans to bring people to the Red Planet in 2024. Musk also revealed how much a single ticket would cost when the rocket is ready for its first launch. However, he also mentioned that the project would cost $10 billion which may require SpaceX to look for financial partnerships eventually.
It is no secret that the SpaceX CEO has been eyeing on the Red Planet and has already made it known that his goal is to send humans to Mars. In his recent speech, Musk said, "What I really want to do here is to make Mars seem possible - make it seem as though it's something that we could do in our lifetimes, and that you can go," Space reported.
However, Musk still needs to figure out how to finance the huge rocket that could apparently send humans to Mars. SpaceX is reportedly financing the estimated $10 billion project with a few ten million dollars a year but it seems the company cannot sustain this alone so a public-private partnership may be possible.
The idea of the big rocket that SpaceX wants to develop was also revealed by Musk through a video. Musk then said, "What you saw there is very close to what we'll actually build," The New York Times reported. The rocket could apparently go beyond Mars as well. It can purportedly travel farther to places like Jupiter's icy moon called Europa.
Musk discussed that the rocket's first trip may start in 2024 if the plan goes well but a single rocket could only hold 100 passengers. This could mean that it would take a huge number of flights in order to build a colonization in Mars. Musk also said that it may take 40 years until a century before humans could build self-sufficient settlement on the planet.
The SpaceX CEO also revealed that the first passenger tickets to Mars may cost $500,000 in its initial launch. However, Musk said that it may reduce later on. It can also be recalled that SpaceX plans to transport people to Mars every 26 months, Parent Herald reported. Musk confirmed this plan and tickets by then may possibly drop to a third of its initial cost, reportedly.
Watch the SpaceX Interplanetary Transport System.
