SpaceX CEO Elon Musk envisions a million-strong settlement on Mars by 2050, with the aim of ensuring the “long-term survival of consciousness.” Using SpaceX’s Starship rocket, Musk hopes to establish a self-sustaining colony on the Red Planet.
However, biologist Kelly Weinersmith and cartoonist Zach Weinersmith argue in their book A City on Mars that such plans could lead to a catastrophic humanitarian disaster.
In one CNN interviewKelly expressed his doubts: “If we do this quickly, it could be an ethical catastrophe.” She highlighted major challenges such as space radiation, Mars’ low gravity and unknown effects on reproduction.
“There’s no way you can scale up to a million people on Mars without something catastrophic happening,” she said.
The authors suggest that colonization should be a slow, multi-generational process. For now, Mars is better suited for research than for habitation.
“Maybe in our lifetime we’ll see people land on Mars, do some research and come back home,” Kelly added, but dismissed the idea that Mars would support human reproduction anytime soon.
Former President Barack Obama criticized Mars colonization plans as impractical, stating, “Even after a nuclear war, Earth would be more livable than Mars.”
Musk himself acknowledges the dangers and describes life on Mars as ‘not for the faint of heart’.
While his vision is inspiring, experts say humanity still has significant hurdles to overcome before it can call Mars home.
