Elon Musk: We Need to Go to Mars Because of Nuclear Armageddon on Earth
Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, is passionate about taking humanity off the planet.
Friday, November 19, 2021 | Chimniii Desk
Key Highlights
- Musk's main focus is mitigating the "civilizational dangers we might potentially alleviate" - and making mankind multiplanetary is one of the most effective ways to do so, according to the CEO. "You know, if you wait long enough, Earth will become uninhabitable," Musk speculated. "
- Musk also stated during last year's Humans to Mars summit that establishing a base on Mars would be "extremely difficult and risky.
- However, he believes that "larger rockets" will allow mankind to ward off impending comets or space rockets and "one day save billions of people.
- Musk also mentioned carbon emissions in the atmosphere and tundra melting, saying that he is "probably less hysterical than most" when it comes to environmental issues.
- "There's always good ol' nuclear Armageddon," Musk added, referring to comets, climate change, and declining birth rates as potential threats to our species' extinction. "
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And it's more crucial than ever, given that mankind is facing climate change, comet strikes, and declining birth rates, not to mention "good ol' nuclear Armageddon," as he puts it.
Musk discussed his grandiose intentions to create a permanent base on Mars during his presentation at the National Academies' combined meeting of the Space Studies Board and the Board on Physics and Astronomy.
Musk's main focus is mitigating the "civilizational dangers we might potentially alleviate" - and making mankind multiplanetary is one of the most effective ways to do so, according to the CEO.
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"You know, if you wait long enough, Earth will become uninhabitable," Musk speculated. "So, in the end, we're all definitely dead," he continued, chuckling.
Musk said that the first few flights to Mars may be difficult, comparing them to the "awful" initial Atlantic crossings.
Musk also stated during last year's Humans to Mars summit that establishing a base on Mars would be "extremely difficult and risky."
He noted at the time, "Not for the faint of heart." "There's a good probability you'll die." And it'll be rough, tough going, but if it all works out, it'll be magnificent."
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The scene in our rear-view mirrors while rocketing to Mars may not be pleasant. Indeed, it appears that Musk has already foreseen the worst for our existing planet.
"There's always a chance of a comet destroying a continent," Musk stated at the joint gathering this week, claiming that there have been "enough of sort of continent-level extinction catastrophes that have occurred in the geological record" that aren't widely discussed.
However, he believes that "larger rockets" will allow mankind to ward off impending comets or space rockets and "one day save billions of people."
Of course, Musk's claim that the greatest threats to mankind are ones that his own corporate interests can guard against is handy.
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Nonetheless, the challenges to our life on this planet are genuine. Musk also mentioned carbon emissions in the atmosphere and tundra melting, saying that he is "probably less hysterical than most" when it comes to environmental issues.
Musk also expressed concern about the global decline in birth rates, which he described as a "underappreciated problem," with many population rates falling "with no end in sight."
"There's always good ol' nuclear Armageddon," Musk added, referring to comets, climate change, and declining birth rates as potential threats to our species' extinction. "It's not completely out of the question."
"I'm not sure what that danger is, but it's not zero," he explained.
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