During a speech at the World Government Summit in Dubai, British astrophysicist Martin Rees criticized SpaceX founder, Elon Musk, who plans to send a million people to Mars by 2050.
“The idea of Musk <…> is a dangerous delusion. Living on Mars is no better than living at the South Pole or on the summit of Everest,” Sky News quotes him as saying.
His interlocutor, American astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, in turn, noted that for a comfortable life on Mars, people would have to “turn” it into Earth. He also added that resettlement to another planet to save from a possible catastrophe on Earth now seems unrealistic. According to the scientist, in the current conditions, it is easier for humankind to prevent the catastrophe itself than to create acceptable conditions on Mars.
Nevertheless, Tyson called for support for “young people”, for whom space is a source of inspiration.
Musk previously said he was going to send a million people to Mars by 2050. SpaceX is also developing a transport system that allows satellites, crews and cargo to be delivered to the planet.
