London, Nov 23: Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX responded to a query on Twitter with his idea of how life can sustain on Mars. Also, the product architect of Tesla and founder of The Boring Company, Musk has been identified as the world’s fourth-richest billionaire with a net worth of USD 104.5 billion, according to Forbes.
A Twitter handle by the name of ‘Astronomiaum’ asked Elon Musk on November 18, “When people arrived on Mars, would the planet already be terraformed or would people have another way created by SpaceX to survive on the red planet?”
In response, Elon Musk said, “Life in glass domes at first. Eventually, terraformed to support life, like Earth.”
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was referring to the hypothetical process of altering the atmosphere and physical features of the moon or any other planet to make it habitable. In a statement in July 2018, NASA had stated that Mars terraforming is not possible using present-day technology.
“Mars does not retain enough carbon dioxide that could practically be put back into the atmosphere to warm Mars, according to a new NASA-sponsored study. Transforming the inhospitable Martian environment into a place astronauts could explore without life support is not possible without technology well beyond today’s capabilities,” NASA had said at the time.
Life in glass domes at first. Eventually, terraformed to support life, like Earth.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 18, 2020
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had in 2014, first proposed terraforming as the way forward to establish human colonies on Mars. The billionaire has also said in interviews that he hopes to populate Mars with at least a million people by 2050.
In fact, SpaceX is currently working on a Starship rocket at its South Texas facility to further the cause. A reusable rocket-and-spacecraft combination, the project aims to launch the first uncrewed mission to Mars in less than four years.
