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'People will probably die': Barefoot Elon Musk discusses Mars plans

3 minutes to read
Elon Musk spoke candidly about what it'll take to get people to Mars. Photo / Supplied

Elon Musk spoke candidly about what it'll take to get people to Mars. Photo / Supplied

NZ Herald

Elon Musk says "a bunch of people will probably die" in the quest for the exploration of Mars.

In a barefoot interview, the multimillionnaire entrepreneur spoke candidly about his plans for tourism on the red planet, and what needs to happen before they become a reality.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO spoke to XPrize founder and chairman Peter Diamandis about his outer space plans saying Mars isn't an "escape hatch for rich people".

During the interview, Musk said travelling to Mars will be "dangerous" and "uncomfortable".

"It's a long journey, you might not come back alive, but it's a glorious adventure and it'll be an amazing experience," he said.

"If an arduous and dangerous journey where you might not come back alive, but it's a glorious adventure, sounds appealing, Mars is the place. That's the ad for Mars," he said.

"Honestly, a bunch of people probably will die in the beginning. It's tough sledging over there, you know," he added.

"We don't make anyone go. It's volunteers only."

Musk spoke to Diamandis this week in Cape Canaveral, Florida, during the announcement of the $100 million Carbon Removal project.

The project is "aimed at tackling the biggest threat facing humanity - fighting climate change and rebalancing Earth's carbon cycle" and is being funded by Musk's philanthropic organisation.

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"This four-year global competition invites innovators and teams from anywhere on the planet to create and demonstrate solutions that can pull carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere or oceans, and sequester it durably and sustainably," the site for the project states.