Man's fascination with extra-terrestrial life and space exploration, in general, is influenced by Sci-Fi or fictional literature and movies that depict the human race governing above and beyond the planet Earth. This may also explain why SpaceX and its "crazy" mission to colonize Mars is highly anticipated by the general public because it is like a Sci-Fi fantasy coming to life.
Elon Musk is actually turning a lot of people's fantasy into reality. One of which is to travel to Mars. Apparently, planet Mars has enough gravity to hold infrastructure and to make "walking" doable for men. With its Earth-like properties and some natural components, experts are confident that creating a sustainable and enclosed community on the red planet is possible.
SpaceX founder and CEO recently revealed his plans on colonizing Mars in a speech entitled "Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species." To some, his ambitions seem pretty crazy, but to others, it's like fantasy turned into reality. Musk explained that there will come a time when mankind may be forced to find another habitable planet, citing the doomsday prophecy, hence the need to colonize Mars.
In order to do that, his commercial space flight company is working towards powerful fleet systems with rockets powered by innovative engines that will be propelled using "supersonic retropropulsion" that can make interplanetary travel faster. Musk also revealed that his rockets might even be too powerful that they might eventually be used to go beyond Mars and explore the depths of the Solar System. These technologies were only once part of fictional movies like Star Trek, but now SpaceX is making it possible in real life.
One of the most concrete evidence that SpaceX is capable of flying to the red planet is its Mars Transport System. The 55-foot-wide capsule is designed so it will be able to transport 100 people to Mars, according to Popular Science. If somebody has ever spoken of a human-carrying rocket bound for Mars 10 or 20 years ago, it would have sounded overly impossible. But that is no longer the case now. SpaceX recently test-fired its Raptor engine that will carry the transporter into space. This means this rocket technology is no longer fictional and theoretical in nature but is already an actual and working piece of machine.
Some say that Musk's motive is somewhat heroic in nature with a "saving the world" theme from a global disaster known today as the doom's day prophecy. The space industry and business tycoon is also coined as the real-life Tony Stark (Iron Man) due to his flair for showmanship, renewable energy, commercial space industry and his dedication to the welfare of the public if that is indeed part of his goals as he makes it appear.
Today, Musk believes that in order to expand the horizon for mankind, it is important to go beyond Earth, like what fiction taught humanity, and to explore the possibility of building thriving communities in places or planets rather, that no man has ever gone before.
"I think Earth will be a good place for a long time," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said during the conference in Mexico. "But the probable lifespan of human civilisation will be much greater if we're a multiplanetary species."