New York: Elon Musk has reiterated his grand vision of ferrying one million individuals to Mars, underscoring his commitment to developing a comprehensive “game plan” to realize this audacious goal. Initially targeting a human landing on Mars for 2029, Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX, had originally slated its first manned mission to the red planet for the current year. However, logistical considerations have necessitated a postponement to 2026, prompting Musk to propose 2029 as the pivotal year for this historic endeavor.
Addressing inquiries about the progress of his Mars mission strategy, Musk recently engaged with his audience on X (formerly Twitter), indicating that intensive deliberations are underway. Responding to a post lauding SpaceX’s Starship as the vehicle poised to “take us to Mars,” Musk affirmed, “We are mapping out a game plan to get a million people to Mars. Civilization only passes the single-planet Great Filter when Mars can survive even if Earth supply ships stop coming.”
The notion of the Great Filter posits that species must overcome critical barriers to ensure survival. Musk, in line with this concept, has consistently advocated for humanity’s expansion as a multi-planetary species to secure our long-term existence.
Musk’s fervor for Mars colonization stems from his belief in the imperative of safeguarding against the vulnerabilities of a single-planet existence. “We don’t want to be one of those single-planet species; we want to be a multi-planet species,” he emphasized. “It’s been now almost half a century since humans were last on the moon. That’s too long. We need to get back there and have a permanent base on the moon—again, like a big permanently occupied base on the moon. And then build a city on Mars to become a spacefaring civilization, a multi-planet species,” he articulated in 2021.
