Elon Musk Future City

Source: pxfuel.com

Whoever said the sky is the limit must seem like such a narrow thinker to the likes of Elon Musk. The South African entrepreneur has come out swinging with his plans to build a functioning, thriving city on the planet of Mars. It was no secret that this was one of his goals, but the lofty idea seems to really be coming to fruition quickly – far quicker than most ever thought the dreamer may go. In fact, if things go accordingly to plan, you could well be playing at online casino in outer space before you know it!

At the recent annual conference for the Mars Society, Musk spoke about his plans in some detail. One of the most important areas that he is now focusing on is what he called the “acid test”. He spoke about the contingency plans for what would happen if ships were no longer able or willing to come from Earth to the new settlement at any point. If the human citizens of Mars are able to overcome this kind of setback, then the settlement will not only survive, it will be able to truly thrive on its new home planet.

The Inspiration And The Drive

In every project that Elon Musk and his companies have been involved with, there has been an array of inspiration, innovation and a clear drive to propel the human race forward. Joining the space race could be seen as essentially a natural course for someone like Musk.

He has regularly stated that he believes the human race needs to focus on space exploration and creating settlements on other planets. He has also said in those same conversations that it needs to happen quickly. Once the window for our outward movement into space opens, it will very likely shut soon after. If we don’t make the most of the opportunity as quickly as possible, we won’t be around for long to see it take root.

A catastrophe that could wipe out the human race on Earth or perhaps wipe out the planet itself is imminent, especially as technology advances. Musk isn’t sure what exactly will cause the extinction level event – it could be nuclear war, disease, a natural disaster like an earthquake, or even something we haven’t seen or imagined. What Musk is sure of is that if something big happens that destroys our way of life on Earth and we haven’t started settling on other planets, we aren’t likely to make it off this one.

The drive behind Musk’s actions is the idea that it would be depressing to not look towards space. He has said in interviews that he wants to be excited for the future and he wants the whole human race to feel the same way. If we were all stuck on Earth with no hope of escaping the event that sends us into extinction, how could we be excited about what will happen in the future? The notion of building settlements on other planets gives the collective human race a chance at surviving and thriving.

Source: pxfuel.com

The Road To Mars

Actually getting to Mars with manned missions and the next step of settling on the planet seem, for the first time in our history, within our grasp. This isn’t just thanks to Musk’s SpaceX starship that is currently under development, but that is looking like a clear winner for the mission. There is a growing sentiment throughout the world that we need to start looking elsewhere as the Earth is starting to die and may not be sustainable for the next generation.

From a practical standpoint, SpaceX has already ticked off their first goals of being the first private company to reach space, dock with the International Space Station and send humans into orbit and to the station. Now they are working on getting to Mars. Their targets were initially set as 2022 seeing their cargo ship heading off to the planet, followed by the first manned mission to the planet in 2024. The dates are meant to coincide with when Mars and Earth are closest to each other, which happens approximately every two years. Musk has also suggested that it will take until 2024 for those cargo ships to reach Mars, and they will possibly only send the first manned ship once those first ones have arrived safely. A lot will depend on the progress of building the ships and how the cargo ships fare while on their journey to Mars.

In the meantime, Musk has also been thinking ahead to what life on Mars will look like and what needs to be considered and put into place before people are sent to settle there. Once the business of creating a habitable settlement has been completed, the people living there will need to look to the business of actually living. This means that the settlement will need industries and jobs for people to do, as well as entertainment and fun. In essence, a civilization needs to be created from scratch.

The Steps Already Taken

From Tesla to SolarCity, just about every invention and innovation that Musk has put his name to has been about moving towards this ultimate goal of a civilization on Mars. Those two companies alone have the ability to power a new city on a far-off planet. They are also working on autonomous vehicles at Tesla that will surely make the sending of unmanned ships between the planets a regularity at some point.

Tesla is also working on a range of different vehicles – from heavy-duty trucks to urban transport for lots of passengers. These will be incredibly useful at all phases of creating a settlement on another planet. The next step is reportedly to make autonomous machines that can build other machines – one would argue a must in creating a settlement where the atmosphere is hostile to humans.

The final steps in the plan have SpaceX establishing a city on Mars by the year 2050. From there, the settlers will need to act on the plans to create a sustainable way of life that is completely independent of Earth. It can mirror Earth practices but must not rely on people or supplies coming from what was home. Musk did say that this level of independence and sustainability is not likely to be in place in his lifetime, but he is hopeful that his future city will get there. It has to.

Concerns Have Been Voiced

As Musk’s reach into various areas of technology expands and his companies’ ability to do things better than others increases, there are some voices of concern and descent. There are those who are worried that no one man should have that much control and oversight in so many areas. The question being asked by many is if such a huge endeavour as creating a settlement on Mars should be overseen by one person.

Hope For The Future

Elon Musk and many of his endeavours have been described a number of ways, but one thing that is hard to dismiss is his optimism and the hope he has for the human race. He wouldn’t do what he did if he didn’t feel that we could be saved and were worth saving.

He has also alluded to the fact that he has high hopes for this first settlement on Mars. He believes the setting will be ideal to push the humans living there to become more innovative than they ever could be on Earth. The ideas and inventions that could come out of those living in their self-sustaining Mars city are likely to be what takes humanity to the next level of civilization.