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Space agencies like NASA are currently in the process of preparing for the future Mars mission, which will see the first humans set foot on the Red Planet. However, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has warned the astronauts who will be setting foot on Mars of the possibility of their mission becoming a fatal one.
SpaceX has assisted NASA this year in successful launches on American soil - the first in several years. However, as the agencies prepare for its upcoming Mars mission that will take place within the decade, Musk claims that the first humans that will set foot on Mars have a chance of dying when out on Martian soil.
The first humans that will reach Mars in the upcoming mission will be tasked to set up a base on Mars that will allow for future crewed missions to the Red Planet. Despite the grim warning to those who will become the astronauts that will travel to Mars, Musk noted that setting up a base on the Red Planet would be the ultimate goal.
“Getting to Mars, I think, is not the fundamental issue. 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,” said the SpaceX CEO. “I want to emphasize that this is a very hard and dangerous, difficult thing, not for the faint of heart. Good chance you’ll die, it’s going to be tough going, but it will be pretty glorious if it works out.”
However, the astronauts on the future Mars mission will also be faced with the challenge of traveling to Mars in itself. According to NASA, it will take around seven months to travel to Mars.
Over the weekend, the Moon flew by Mars in what is known as the lunar occultation of Mars. Mr. Patricio Leon from Santiago, Chile, was able to snap photos of Mars and the Moon in detail. Speaking to Space Weather, “I caught Mars emerging from behind the Moon’s southern hemisphere 25 minutes after being swallowed by the lunar disk.”
