Elon Musk has become famous for seeing the future and making it happen Now. He has achieved this goal in rocketry, solar energy, electric cars and more, but his ultimate aim is to have humans colonize the planet Mars. At the International Astronautical Congress of 2017 he said, “I really want to make the idea of a colony on Mars seem possible to more people – like it’s something we can achieve in our lifetimes.”  He feels that there are two fundamental paths facing humanity today: “One is that we stay on Earth forever, and then there will eventually be an extinction. The alternative is to become a spacefaring civilization, and a multi-planetary species.” Creating a human colony on Mars would be the first step.

In order to achieve this goal, Musk outlined a multi-stage launch and transport system, including a reusable booster – like the one his SpaceX company has already perfected, only much larger. The booster with its “interplanetary module” could initially carry up to 100 passengers to Mars. Similar modules would orbit the Earth and act as refuelling stations for interplanetary spaceships. Musk also outlined a system for powering return journeys to Earth by creating fuel on Mars using water and carbon dioxide. It all sounds rather fantastic... but making what seems fantastic into reality is what Elon Musk is famous for.