Elon Musk’s plan to take a ‘futuristic Noah’s Ark’ to Mars has been ridiculed by scientists who say the claim is little more than ‘a brilliant sound bite’ and the reality is centuries off and would be incredibly difficult to achieve.
Musk, 50 years old, said Monday to Time magazine that he was excited about the next stage of space exploration, after SpaceX’s Starship rockets land at Mars within five years.
He said, “The next great thing is to create a Mars-based self-sustaining city that can support all of the creatures and animals on Earth.”
It’s sort of like a futuristic Noah’s ark. However, we’ll be taking more than one – it can get a bit weird if you only have two.
Musk stated repeatedly that he would like to assist humans in colonizing Mars. This is as the Earth’s natural resources decrease and the climate changes get worse.
Musk explained that Musk’s goal is to “make life multi-planetary” and to allow mankind to travel to space.
However, experts are skeptical of the possibility that livestock can be raised on oxygen-deficient planets.
Other people claimed the plan would take hundreds of decades to come true.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX company illustrates the Starship vehicles he has envisioned on Mars. Musk stated Monday that he plans to send a “Noah’s Ark” to Mars.
Musk was Monday’s Time magazine person of the Year for 2021
Roger Wiens is a Los Alamos scientist who currently leads the SuperCam laser instrument for the Perseverance Mars rover. DailyMail.com said that the idea came from a ‘brilliant sound bite’.
He stated that Mars with its CO2 atmosphere might be a great place to grow plants, if they’re kept warm and hydrated, but it’d be terrible to abandon animals who require oxygen for breathing.
“Humans may be intelligent enough to use oxygen breathing systems. But would animals be able to adapt such a system to a falling object? My opinion is no. This would lead to a large number of animals that are dead. Let’s start with botanical gardens.
Roger Wiens (a Los Alamos scientist who works on Perseverance rover, which explores Mars), said that Musk’s plans for a Noah’s Ark were ‘a great sound bite’.
Jonathan McDowell stated that Musk’s vision for animals on Mars would take him’multiple decades’.
Jonathan McDowell was also skeptical as an astrophysicist from the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
DailyMail.com told him that it might take “multiple centuries” before humans can successfully raise animals from Mars.
He stated that human beings could only live in a biosphere, which is a diverse ecology with many species.
If we ever want to construct a Mars-based human civilization that can sustain itself, then it will be necessary to recreate the Noah’s Ark.
Musk is not even remotely close to this feat – in fact, he’s far from it.
McDowell stated that McDowell did not exclude early Martian settlers from bringing their pets ‘towards end of century’.
However, he said that raising animals or wild livestock in large quantities is still an idea in the future.
He said, “We just began to tiptoe in space,”
Musk’s SpaceX facility can be seen on Merritt Island in Florida
He stated that Mars would be populated by plants, animals and viruses in the long-term.
McDowell said, “But it will take hundreds.”
Robert Lillis (associate director of the planet group at Space Sciences Lab, Berkeley) joked that scientists weren’t going to bring any “aardvarks,” marmosets or pumas to Mars. It’s unlikely, anyway. We don’t know what to do with them.
Lillis is involved with both the Emirates Mars Mission and Nasa’s MAVEN Mars Mission. She said that Musk had an important point to make about the future of life on other worlds.
‘He is not wrong in a bigger sense: in order to create a self-sustaining colony we need an ecosystem of specific plants and animals maintained in balance with an assistance from life support system and horticultural technology’, he said. He joked that this would be ‘a veritable Garden of Eden’. Perhaps Garden of Elon.
However, Assistant Professor of Astrophysics at Colorado at Boulder and planetary Science, Dave Brain said that Musk brought up relevant points.
Brain said that he believes it is important to have giant thinkers within society. Elon Musk has a history of thinking big.
He stated that there were three “key elements” to the vision, namely a Mars-based city, self-sustaining and capable of supporting diverse species. However, the hardest aspect was the one that requires self-sustaining.
He stated, “We don’t yet know how to accomplish this, and it is not possible for Mars.”
“But, without people pushing the idea it’ll take a long time before we find an answer.”
Christopher S. Edwards, an associate professor at Northern Arizona University’s department of astronomy and planetary science, said he also thought Musk made a valid point.
“I think it’s not a terrible idea to bring animals with you,” he said. DailyMail.com: He said that livestock were transported on boats crossing oceans long ago.
“More than 2 of any one is a good idea, for both genetic diversity and because it’s possible to never have them again.
But he expressed concern about “the self-sustaining aspect.”
Edwards stated that it would be difficult to establish a fully self-reliant post.
While experiments are currently under way to evaluate sustainable options for the future, he said that full sustainability would be a long shot.
“Identification of available resources is clearly an essential first step.
“However I do expect space travel by humans to Mars to remain heavily dependent upon Earth resources over the long-term, just as human beings have done on Mars.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX received a license from the Federal Communications Commission on December 9, to carry out an experimental orbital demo and recovery testing of Starship Rocket in Q1-2022.
On December 9, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted SpaceX a license to conduct an experimental orbital demonstration and recovery test of its Starship rocket in the first quarter of 2022.
FCC applications show that the orbital launch could occur anytime between December 20, 2020 and March 1, 2022 from SpaceX’s Boca Chica test facility.
The Musk-led firm must wait until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has completed its environmental assessment, before Starship can take flight.
SpaceX is now in possession of all regulatory approvals required to fly its large rocket into space, as the FAA had announced that they would finish the review by December 31st.
Musk, who had repeatedly stated that a launch could be achieved by January 2022 has not been surprised by the news.
He stated that Starship’s initial flight to orbit would be in 2022’s three-months. Then, he reduced this number to January on November 17.
Speaking during an online meeting held by the US government’s National Academies, Musk said the first orbital launch of Starship – which he called a ‘very profound vehicle’ that’s making ‘very rapid’ progress – would ‘hopefully’ happen in January ‘or perhaps February’ 2022 and could be followed by 12 or more launches throughout the rest of next year.
He said, “We’re very close to our orbital launch.”
“The January 1st orbital flight that we hope to make.
According to the FCC, an orbital launch can be made anytime from December 20-21 and March 1 2022 at SpaceX’s Boca Chica testing facility.
According to the billionaire, Starship’s orbital flight would take place in 2022’s first three months. He then reduced this number down to January 17th.
Musk’s company must still wait for the Federal Aviation Administration to finish its environmental review before Starship is allowed to leave the ground.
Musk stated that there is a great deal of risk involved in the first launch.
“So while I don’t think it will be successful, I do believe that we’ll make significant progress,” he said.
FCC applications state that ‘trajectory information is required. [of the orbital flight]NASA, USAF, and NTIA will receive the information directly.
The assessment reviews the impact on environment of SpaceX’s original mission profile, debris recovery, road closures around Boca Chica in Texas (where SpaceX’s launch site) and other issues.
Starship is a program that develops vehicles to interplanetary transport cargo and people to Mars, the Moon and other planets.
SpaceX intends to launch several tests over the next few decades in order to improve its rockets. All of these launches will require an FAA permit.
Musk, who has been vocal against Joe Biden’s tax hike on billionaires in recent months, insists that he would like to use the money for his Mars missions.
Tesla CEO, Nikola Tesla, tweeted October in an answer to an article called ‘Democrats billionaire tax would severely target 10 wealthiest Americans. However, another plan is emerging.
Musk responded, “My plan is for humanity to Mars with the light of my consciousness.”
The article cited experts who say the increased taxes could raise more than half of its revenue from the countries 10 wealthiest people: Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg, Sergey Brin, Larry Ellison, Steve Ballmer, Warren Buffet, and Jim Walton.
According to it, Musk could face a $50 billion tax burden over the first five years while Bezos might pay up to $44 billion.
Elon Musk, world’s wealthiest man, has spoken out against the proposed tax on billionaires.
Musk and Bezos are in the middle of a space race that has seen them become billionaires as SpaceX and Blue Origin vie for NASA contracts.
Musk, the world’s richest man, has continuously slammed Biden’s plan to tax billionaires’ income to pay for his proposed spending bill.
It was disclosed that Musk and Jeff Bezos have not paid federal income taxes in the past.
Musk’s fortune grew by $13.9 billion between 2014-2018.
The total income he earned was $1.52 Billion. He also paid 455 M in taxes. This equates with a true tax rate of 3.27 percent.
Musk did not pay federal income taxes in 2018. He paid $68,000 in 2015, and $65,000 in 2017, according to the records.
Musk saw his wealth increase by $36Billion in October after Tesla’s market capitalization reached $1 Trillion. Hertz placed the largest ever order for their electric cars.