THE RED PLANET

SpaceX Unveils Plans for Mars Colonization

New spaceship aims to drastically cut costs in travel.

SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk revealed Tuesday the company’s plans to send humans to Mars on a ship called the Interplanetary Transport System. The ITS will require at least 28 million pounds of thrust to launch, and will be capable of carrying as much as 100 tons of cargo (including human life). During a live-streamed presentation, Musk noted the current cost of getting to Mars is prohibitive. “You can’t create a self-sustaining civilization on Mars if the ticket price is $10 billion per person,” he admitted, before adding his company’s goals: “We aim to improve the cost per ton to Mars by 5 million percent.” Part of those efforts to save money, Musk said, would include the concept of “reusability,” via building “propellant farms” on Mars, and sending the ships back for more resources.