The colonization plan of Elon Musk, founder of private spaceflight company SpaceX, would center on using an entirely reusable transportation system to take 100 people as little as 30 days to reach Mars, Musk was quoted as saying in various media outlets on Tuesday
Musk, also the co-founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, was speaking at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Guadalajara, Mexico.
The transportation system would comprise of a spaceship refueled with methane and oxygen in Earth's orbit and on Mars after landing there. Musk said to achieve the $200,000 ticket price, the entire transportation system had to be reusable.
To be self-sustaining, the colony would have to consist of about one million people and that could take about 100 years, Musk said.
"To reach a million people, I want to make Mars seem possible, something we can do in our lifetimes… and that anyone can go if they want to," he said.
According to SpaceX's timeline, the first Mars flight could take place as early as 2022. The prototype spaceship is planned to make test flights in about four years, at the beginning going into space, but not into orbit.
The plan is designed to be funded by profits from SpaceX - Musk's own wealth.
Musk said he saw the colonization of Mars as a "huge public private partnership", and added "that is how the United States was established."
The price of the trip could eventually come down to $100,000 to $140,000 and if someone wanted to return to Earth, Musk said they could take a returning spaceship "for free."
"I would like to go to Mars… because without someone with a real ideological commitment, it doesn't seem we are on any trajectory to become a spacefaring civilization," he said.
By Sibel Akbay
Anadolu Agency
enerji@aa.com.tr