The colonization of Mars has become a topic of national interest. Like putting men on the moon, it has been a frequent choice for science fiction writers and daydreamers. But until recently, it has seemed clearly out of reach.
Of course, there have been a couple feeble attempts, however amateurish they may have been. None of them have even come close to actually launching a rocket. Mars One was potentially the most famous, a group that took in tens of thousands of "applicants" to be the first to colonize Mars. The project made big waves, eventually selecting 100 people to be the first inhabitants of Mars. Within a decade, they expect their first candidates to touch down on Mars. And of course, all of this would be funded by a reality TV series.
It goes without saying that this, among other such attempts, was laughable. Mars One has absolutely no technical expertise, and will never leave the surface. But recently, some more serious plans seem to be falling into place.
Credit: SpaceX
Of course this new plan comes from none other than Elon Musk, and his private space company SpaceX. This comes as SpaceX is developing the vehicle they plan to use during the colonization of Mars; the BFR, or Big Fucking Rocket (yes, that's the actual name). His timeline is aggressive; by 2022, he expects to be laying down supplies on Mars for the very first time. By 2024, he plans on the very first humans to set foot on the red planet.
This timeline is far more ambitious than anyone could have expected. Donald Trump proudly announced that NASA would reach Mars by 2030. Of course, this was almost immediately rebuked by NASA themselves who said that reaching Mars by the 2030's was nearly impossible with their given budget. And yet, Elon Musk plans to beat NASA's fairytale timeline by a full 6 years.
How does SpaceX plan to accomplish this feet? Simple, by ditching every rocket they have (including the highly successful Falcon rockets) in order to develop the BFR. By doing this, Musk hopes they can redirect virtually all of their development funds into the BFR. The result should be a versatile machine capable of supplying the ISS, completing trips to orbit, and carrying passengers to Mars (100 of them actually).
But for the average person, things get even a little more exciting. An interesting sidenote came in that the BFR could be used to transport humans on Earth. He expects that virtually any trip could be completed in half an hour, and could be bought for the price of an economy-class plane ticket. This claim might seem a little boisterous, but other companies have explored the same concept of using space to transport people at far faster rates.