Recently, Elon Musk publicly revealed the intricate details about the ambitious rocket project SpaceX has undertaken. This highly anticipated revelation occurred during the 2016 International Astronautical Congress. It all began a few months back when SpaceX hinted at the unveiling and I, having connections with them from previous collaborations with Elon in 2015, reached out to get a sneak peek and write this post.

After receiving confirmation, I had a detailed discussion with Elon about the rocket’s design, the timeline, and the overarching plan it fits into. The conversation kicked off in our usual style.

Following that, we delved into exploring the capabilities and implications of this groundbreaking vehicle SpaceX is constructing and the intricate details of its operation.

Now, before we delve deeper into the subject—

This article is just a snippet of The SpaceX Saga, one of the most enthralling stories of modern times, which I extensively covered in a three-month, 40,000-word series last year. If you wish to grasp the full essence of this narrative and haven’t had the chance to read the post, I highly recommend starting there. The series is structured into three parts spanning five segments:

Part 1: Narrating the Human-Space Exploration Story

Part 2: Unraveling Musk’s Mission

Part 3: Pioneering Mars Colonization

→ Phase 1: Pioneering Space Access Technology
→ Phase 2: Revolutionizing Space Travel Economics
→ Phase 3: Establishing a Human Settlement on Mars

For those acquainted with the series or simply eager to learn about the monumental rocket and proceed swiftly, here’s a concise overview of the background:

The Backdrop

To grasp the significance of the colossal rocket under development, it’s imperative to comprehend this core statement:

SpaceX endeavors to ensure the survival of humanity on multiple planets by nurturing a self-sustaining community of one million individuals on Mars.

Let’s dissect this standpoint.

Why Pursue Multi-Planetary Existence?

We have two primary motives:

1) It’s Thrilling and Adventurous.

2) It’s Prudent to Diversify Beyond Earth. Currently, all of humankind resides on Earth, which means any catastrophic event here could spell doom for us. To mitigate this vulnerability—to ensure our species endures even if Earth faces peril—diversifying to other planets is the proposed solution. Elon terms it as “insurance for the survival of the species.”

Why Mars?

Venus is inhospitable with its extreme temperatures and atmospheric pressure. The Moon lacks resources, has severe environmental conditions, and no protective atmosphere. Other gas giants in our solar system are unsuitable for human habitation. Mars, though challenging, emerges as the most viable alternative compared to other options. It possesses advantageous characteristics such as moderate temperatures, potential for resource utilization, and prospects for terraforming, making it a compelling site for human settlement.

Why Aim for a Population of One Million?

Elon estimates this figure to be the threshold for a self-sustaining Martian community—meaning even without regular supplies from Earth, the colony could persist independently. This necessitates a robust industrial base, significantly more intricate than that on Earth, ensuring continuous operation without reliance on external resources.

In essence, it’s about securing a backup option to safeguard our existence, similar to maintaining multiple hard drives to prevent data loss if one fails permanently.

While acknowledging potential Earth crises ranging from catastrophic events to societal decline, Elon underscores the imperative of establishing self-reliance on Mars to prevent the colony from withering in isolation should Earth’s support diminish:

The capability of Earthships could cease due to various scenarios, be it a global conflict, societal deterioration, or technological regression. History witnesses civilizations losing past achievements due to neglect or change. Achieving self-sustainability hinges on surpassing the critical threshold of population and cargo capacity, estimated at approximately a million individuals and 10-100 million tons of cargo.

So, urgency is paramount.

Enabling the Migration of One Million People to Mars

Facilitating this intersection:

Essentially, if we reach a stage where a million individuals on Earth desire and can afford to journey to Mars, a Martian populace of equal size will materialize.

Presently, with a minute yellow circle indicating low interest and a nonexistent blue circle representing affordability, substantial growth in the blue circle is deemed essential. The crux of the issue lies in cost:

Historically, NASA estimates peg transporting a five-person crew to Mars at $50 billion, equating to $10 billion per person. Elon advocates driving this cost down to $500,000 per person—a mere 1/20,000th of the current expense.

Illustrating the scale of this reduction, he likens it to envisioning lowering the price of new cars from $20,000 to $1 to catalyze an automotive revolution.

The case in point:

Imaging an aviation industry where each flight ends with a plane destruction scenario, warranting aircraft replacement after a single journey, at a ticket price of $1.5 million