Elon Musk to build ‘glorious’ Martian city with 1,000-starship fleet – but warns first visitors ‘will probably die’
by Sean Keach
The star-gazing billionaire has reaffirmed his vision for a Martian colony that doesn’t rely on support from Earth.
Musk has previously told of how his Starship rocket – currently in testing – will one day ferry Earthlings to Mars.
And he’s said he’ll need a fleet of 1,000 ships to create a sustainable city, as orbits mean the trip is only viable once every two years.
Now speaking at the Humans to Mars summit, Musk says the journey won’t be the hard part.
“Getting to Mars, I think, is not the fundamental issue,” said Musk, as quoted by CNBC.
“The fundamental issue is building a base, building a city on Mars that is self-sustaining.
“We’re going to build a propellant plant, an initial Mars base – Mars Base Alpha – and then get it to the point where it’s self-sustaining.”
Musk is expected to begin orbital Starship test flights next year.
The rocket is designed to be fully reusable, and will allow for long-distance journeys through space.
But the early trips to Mars will be treacherous.
“I want to emphasise that this is a very hard and dangerous difficult thing. Not for the faint of heart,” Musk explained.
“Good chance you’ll die, it’s going to be tough going, but it will be pretty glorious if it works out.”
The SpaceX Starship rocket is still very much in a testing phase.