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Elon Musk believes upto 1 million people to be living on Mars within 100 years

245

Comments

  • #32
    Harry Palmr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 40,061 ✭✭✭✭Harry Palmr


    I take it the first colonisers will be on the B Ark.


  • #33
    jester77
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,264 ✭✭✭✭jester77


    Watched the live feed last night, was impressive stuff.

    But I felt sorry for him during the Q&A, the amount of idiots in that audience and the questions they were asking :eek: I can see why he would want to start afresh on mars.


  • #34
    Wibbs
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,313 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    silverharp wrote: »
    the difference in gravity alone would make it fairly toxic for humans.
    The gravity is the very least of worries TBH. The difference between worlds isn't that large and unlike orbit it has gravity. I reckon we'd adapt to that rapidly enough.

    The radiation is a much larger worry. The radiation going there and back and while living there. Mars' atmosphere is so thin it's pretty much zero protection and Mars doesn't have a magnetosphere of any note so deep space radiation is constantly bombarding the surface. If you wanted to sterilise surgical instruments of all life leaving them out on the surface of Mars would work pretty well.

    Low light levels might be an issue too. Mars is much further out so the sun is less bright. Forget the movies and enhanced pics from the surface, think dusk here on Earth equal to Mars at noon.
    seamus wrote:
    Realistically you're looking at "Landing in Australia" levels of risk in this trip
    Eh no. This isn't some makey uppy episode of scifi on telly. Mars is an environment that is extremely toxic to all life, never mind human. There is almost nothing that isn't trying to kill you with the slightest exposure to it. Mars holds a very deep sway in the human psyche that resists the idea it's not a pretty shítehole. Mars is pretty, even looks like a high desert on Earth so it seems welcoming, but to all intents and purposes it's as "dead" a place as the Moon is. With the much increased extended distances and travel times.

    Many worry about Artificial Intelligence. I worry far more about Organic Idiocy.



  • #35
    Cina
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,395 ✭✭✭Cina


    it's a slightly depressing thought that we'll pretty much all be dead by then.

    Still .. happy Wednesday everyone!


  • #36
    silverharp
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,854 ✭✭✭✭silverharp


    Wibbs wrote: »
    The gravity is the very least of worries TBH. The difference between worlds isn't that large and unlike orbit it has gravity. I reckon we'd adapt to that rapidly enough.

    The radiation is a much larger worry. The radiation going there and back and while living there. Mars' atmosphere is so thin it's pretty much zero protection and Mars doesn't have a magnetosphere of any note so deep space radiation is constantly bombarding the surface. If you wanted to sterilise surgical instruments of all life leaving them out on the surface of Mars would work pretty well.

    that would do it for sure but you might hear arguments about living under big domes to screen it out. Mars gravity is only 38% of earth so its big enough difference to mess with the human body and probably not in a good way.

    A belief in gender identity involves a level of faith as there is nothing tangible to prove its existence which, as something divorced from the physical body, is similar to the idea of a soul. - Colette Colfer



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  • #37
    osarusan
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,794 ✭✭✭✭osarusan


    Seems to be a fairly pointless idea - just because it could be done (and I would have massive questions about that) doesn't mean it should be done. Whatever it would cost would be massive and could be used to accomplish far more on this planet.

    I imagine it's all just waffle from a guy who stands to make huge amounts of money if anybody buys into it.


  • #38
    suicide_circus
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,802 ✭✭✭✭suicide_circus


    silverharp wrote: »
    the difference in gravity alone would make it fairly toxic for humans. it would be much easier to build a city in the middle of the Sahara or in Greenland or under water, the quality of life would be cr@p on Mars
    Be grand, they have some kinda ancient alien contraption that'll melt the subterranean glaciers creating a breathable atmosphere. Saw a documentary on it.


  • #39
    kneemos
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 20,764 ✭✭✭✭kneemos


    http://touch.boards.ie/post/edit/101182113


  • #40
    Wibbs
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,313 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    silverharp wrote: »
    that would do it for sure but you might hear arguments about living under big domes to screen it out.
    Aye SH and they'd be ballsology going on the best tech we have today. The thickness of lead you'd need to build such a dome… I suppose we could generate a magnetosphere but the power required would be enormous. It might be possible on a spacecraft but a colony? Another option is to live underground in caves and deep caverns which Mars has a fair few of, but typing it is easier than doing it.

    Many worry about Artificial Intelligence. I worry far more about Organic Idiocy.



  • #41
    howamidifferent
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,819 ✭✭✭howamidifferent


    I believe I can fly. I believe I can touch the sky. Think about it every night and day....:D


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  • #42
    Wanderer78
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 30,906 ✭✭✭✭Wanderer78


    VinLieger wrote:
    Typical, human progress off the planet is always something to denigrate and try to put down


    Do you really think this option will be available to average middle or lower income earners? When the elites of this planet are done wrecking this place, their plan is to move on, but don't worry, we'll all play a vital role in preparing the technology that is required for their journey before we sink with the ship


  • #43
    screamer
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,193 ✭✭✭screamer


    I wish there billionaires would put their money into science to save and prolong earth instead of some never going to happen exodus to an inhospitable rock. Besides we share the same sun when it eventually goes bang whether on earth or mars everything will die anyway.


  • #44
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 17,378 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    osarusan wrote: »
    Seems to be a fairly pointless idea - just because it could be done (and I would have massive questions about that) doesn't mean it should be done. Whatever it would cost would be massive and could be used to accomplish far more on this planet.

    I imagine it's all just waffle from a guy who stands to make huge amounts of money if anybody buys into it.

    He's risking his fortune on this, Tesla and batteries and all of them could fail and leave him with nothing. But let's throw our hate at the rich guy.


  • #45
    Rhys Essien
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,029 ✭✭✭Rhys Essien


    Wanderer78 wrote: »
    Do you really think this option will be available to average middle or lower income earners? When the elites of this planet are done wrecking this place, their plan is to move on, but don't worry, we'll all play a vital role in preparing the technology that is required for their journey before we sink with the ship

    He said he hopes to get the cost down to $100k per person and hopes to have people there in the next ten years.


  • #46
    BalcombeSt4
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,837 ✭✭✭BalcombeSt4


    I'd prefer to live on the Sun.


  • #47
    silverharp
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,854 ✭✭✭✭silverharp


    BalcombeSt4 wrote: »
    I'd prefer to live on the Sun.

    it would be grand at night

    A belief in gender identity involves a level of faith as there is nothing tangible to prove its existence which, as something divorced from the physical body, is similar to the idea of a soul. - Colette Colfer



  • #48
    Wanderer78
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 30,906 ✭✭✭✭Wanderer78


    Rhys Essien wrote:
    He said he hopes to get the cost down to $100k per person and hopes to have people there in the next ten years.


    I better get saving then! Be an amazing adventure but it just seems to be a play thing for the elites. I'm all for the advancement of mankind, but we have bigger fish to fry on this planet. Very few would be able to afford this journey. By the time it becomes affordable, if ever, to most, this planet could be uninhabitable for most


  • #49
    osarusan
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,794 ✭✭✭✭osarusan


    Deleted User wrote: »
    He's risking his fortune on this, Tesla and batteries and all of them could fail and leave him with nothing. But let's throw our hate at the rich guy.
    Eh, where did I say I hate him? I know very little about him, but I do know he is something of a philanthropist.

    But I think this idea of colonising Mars is extraordinarily far-fetched. At a current estimated cost of $10 billion per person (his estimate) just to get there it is nowhere near feasible any time soon. Never mind the almost inconceivable expense of building from scratch a sustainable and inhabitable environment.

    His rationale is that we face a choice between an inevitable extinction here or becoming a spacefaring people - I wonder whether the cost of becoming a spacefaring people could be better spent on facing challenges (such as, but not limited to, extinction events) here on earth.


  • #50
    Dohnjoe
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,931 ✭✭✭✭Dohnjoe


    Wanderer78 wrote: »
    I better get saving then! Be an amazing adventure but it just seems to be a play thing for the elites. I'm all for the advancement of mankind, but we have bigger fish to fry on this planet. Very few would be able to afford this journey. By the time it becomes affordable, if ever, to most, this planet could be uninhabitable for most

    You mean the elites like Elon Musk and Bill Gates?

    Or the bad "evil" ones who are wrecking the planet and the rest of us are innocent :)


  • #51
    Dohnjoe
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 18,931 ✭✭✭✭Dohnjoe


    osarusan wrote: »
    Eh, where did I say I hate him? I know very little about him, but I do know he is something of a philanthropist.

    But I think this idea of colonising Mars is extraordinarily far-fetched. At a current estimated cost of $10 billion per person (his estimate) just to get there it is nowhere near feasible any time soon. Never mind the almost inconceivable expense of building from scratch a sustainable and inhabitable environment.

    His rationale is that we face a choice between an inevitable extinction here or becoming a spacefaring people - I wonder whether the cost of becoming a spacefaring people could be better spent on facing challenges (such as, but not limited to, extinction events) here on earth.

    Not a huge fan of Musk, but in fairness he's trying to kick-start interest in space travel and exploration

    I'd say don't take the soundbites too seriously


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  • #52
    A Little Pony
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 3,875 ✭✭✭A Little Pony


    Think we would need to get to the moon first. Never mind Mars.


  • #53
    Infini
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,645 ✭✭✭Infini


    A Little Pony wrote: »
    Think we would need to get to the moon first. Never mind Mars.

    Think this sums up the whole idea...



    :D


  • #54
    AllGunsBlazing
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,685 ✭✭✭AllGunsBlazing


    Not gonna happen. Unless some super - valuable natural resource is discovered. Then the likes of America, China and Russia will be throwing everything they have at it.


  • #55
    Wanderer78
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 30,906 ✭✭✭✭Wanderer78


    Dohnjoe wrote: »
    You mean the elites like Elon Musk and Bill Gates?

    Or the bad "evil" ones who are wrecking the planet and the rest of us are innocent :)

    i would have a bigger issue with the elites we dont hear much about.

    many people are almost forced to behave in a manner thats harmful to all and our planet


  • #56
    seamus
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 68,190 ✭✭✭✭seamus


    Wibbs wrote: »
    Eh no. This isn't some makey uppy episode of scifi on telly. Mars is an environment that is extremely toxic to all life, never mind human. There is almost nothing that isn't trying to kill you with the slightest exposure to it.
    So very like Australia then. :p
    Obviously my point being that it wouldn't be some nice "exploring the new frontier" adventure where you land and have a world of opportunity at your fingertips.

    Like any colonists to any previously remote part of the world, the chances of dying in your new home are far higher than if you had stayed put.

    As you quite rightly point out, heavily magnified by the fact that you're not landing on some exotic island where water and food are probably available within an hour's walk, but where your entire existence depends on what you've brought with you and continued regular support arriving from home.


  • #57
    eeguy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,478 ✭✭✭eeguy


    Wanderer78 wrote: »
    Do you really think this option will be available to average middle or lower income earners? When the elites of this planet are done wrecking this place, their plan is to move on, but don't worry, we'll all play a vital role in preparing the technology that is required for their journey before we sink with the ship

    Mars isn't going to be some playboy mansion for millionaires. It's a one way trip to a construction site and mining/science facility.

    The only people going will be those with the niche skills necessary to get the colony off the ground.

    I f*cking hate the "whataboutery" from people on this site.

    Someone does something good and immediately you get the comments "Yeah, he did that, but what about this? Yeah he fixed that, but what about this OTHER thing?".

    If yous had your way nothing would get done.


  • #58
    Stigura
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,609 ✭✭✭Stigura


    VinLieger wrote: »
    Hardly out of nowhere that is unless you live permanently with your head in sand surrounded by nothing but news about kardashians and their ilk

    K .... who?!

    Did you study poor sarcasm at college, by the way? Or is that a natural gift of yours? :rolleyes:

    And, no: The hay harvest is of far greater concern, to me, than the day dreams of the latest boy wonder.

    But, thanks. I at least now have a handle on the issue.


  • #59
    jester77
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 11,264 ✭✭✭✭jester77


    Stigura wrote: »
    K .... who?!

    Did you study poor sarcasm at college, by the way? Or is that a natural gift of yours? :rolleyes:

    And, no: The hay harvest is of far greater concern, to me, than the day dreams of the latest boy wonder.

    But, thanks. I at least now have a handle on the issue.

    Can you really be that ignorant or just pretending?

    Musk has been around for well over 15 years. He is/was behind a few small companies like PayPal, Tesla and SpaceX.


  • #60
    Wibbs
    Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,313 Mod ✭✭✭✭Wibbs


    Deleted User wrote: »
    He's risking his fortune on this, Tesla and batteries and all of them could fail and leave him with nothing. But let's throw our hate at the rich guy.
    Oh oh the fans are here. And no he won't be left with nothing. When guys reach that level of wealth and even if his company collapses he'll still be extremely wealthy.

    Many worry about Artificial Intelligence. I worry far more about Organic Idiocy.



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  • #61
    ScumLord
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,789 ✭✭✭✭ScumLord


    FEck mars, feck planets altogether. We should be solving for living in spaceships/colonies that can float around the resources they need. I know that comes with it's own problems, radiation again being the major one but the rewards for solving the problems are greater and we need to fix them before we can get to the planets anyway.

    If we solve the problems for living on mars, well there's only one mars. We wouldn't necessarily be able to apply the same knowledge on Venus, it's a bit of a dead end when you're pretty much stuck in the local solar system.

    Spaceships are easier to get to and from because you can locate them in easy access areas. We can make them exactly how we want them and expand them as we see fit. We should put planets on the back burner.


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