Elon Musk has said some “out there” things in his time; he’s also done some amazing things during his rise to the top of the “richest people on Earth” list. (He’s currently third)
So, when he talks about leaving Earth for Mars – putting humans there by 2026 – plenty of people seem to nod and go with it.
It’s exciting to think about, but leave it to a science journalist Shannon Stirone to throw some pretty cold water on the Mars idea.
Musk, the SpaceX founder, “is absolutely out into space” on some of those Martian beliefs, according to Stirone.
Turns out there are many ways to die on Mars, and perhaps a little more study is needed before we start talking about colonization of the Red Planet.
“You can choose between your blood boiling, you know, fizzing up like a can of soda, dying from having your muscles deteriorate, freezing to death,” Stirone said.
Co-directors of the Outer Space Institute in British Columbia, Michael Byers and Aaron Boley, added caution in a recent Globe and Mail opinion piece.
“The first humans to arrive will need to find water for drinking, generating oxygen for breathing … Solar storms during the six- to eight-month transit would be especially dangerous, necessitating a safe place… Long-stay habitats may need to be constructed with thick layers of Martian soil to provide adequate shielding.
Musk is “highly confident” that SpaceX will land humans on Mars by 2026, he said late last year.
Stirone is not on board, though what did we expect? She recently authored “Mars is a Hellhole,” which ran in the Atlantic.
Stirone also told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith,” that Musk’s motive is not based in science and discovery, but “instead it’s a colonizing, imperialistic, property-value, dominating, factor, which I think is terrible.”
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