Ramona Adams
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has revealed plans to build a 400-feet tall integrated rocket and spaceship system he hopes can send 100 people to Mars and start a civilization on the planet, Florida Today reported Wednesday.
James Dean writes Musk said at the International Astronautical Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico that SpaceX’ Interplanetary Transport System could cost $10 billion and could be funded through public-private partnerships.
“The larger point is creating a self-sustaining civilization on Mars to provide insurance for life as a whole, life as we know it,” said Musk.
He added ITS could also travel further around the solar system through the establishment of a refueling depot in the asteroid belt or on one of Jupiter’s moons and with additional depots on Saturn’s moon Titan and on Pluto, Space.com reported.
Musk noted a fleet of ITS spaceships will depart from the low-Earth orbit when Earth and Mars align to arrive at the red planet after approximately 80 days, the report said.
ITS could also potentially carry out accelerated cargo transport around the world such as a 25-minute travel from New York to Tokyo, according to Musk.
