SpaceX's
Elon Musk lays out the plan to put humans on Mars
CNNMoney (New York)First published September 27, 2016: 5:34 PM ET
The
SpaceX CEO laid out his plan to colonize the Red Planet at the International
Astronautical Congress, a meeting of multiple international space exploration
associations in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Musk has long
said he wants to make humans an "interplanetary species," and on
Tuesday he addressed many of the technical, safety and cost challenges he'll
face.
His
goal is to bring the price of a ticket to Mars down to around $200,000 per
person -- aboutthe median price of a house in the U.S. Compare that to $10
billion, which is what Musk said it would cost to go to Mars using current
technology.
He
explained that a few crucial technical advancements must be made to make that
price point possible, including making rockets that are reliably reusable.
The
small white figure on the lower right side of the spacecraft represents the
size of a human compared to Musk's Mars-bound spacecraft.
SpaceX
has already been heavily focused on that. The company has successfully
landed six rockets that completed missions to orbit, and it intends to send one
of those "used" rockets back into orbit later this year.
Related:
SpaceX plans return to space by November, 3 months after blast
On the
technical front, Musk has already introduced the world to the Raptor rocket
engine he plans to use to take people to Mars, which is different that the
engines used for the Falcon rockets that SpaceX has already sent on missions.
The Raptor uses a different fuel and is far more powerful. The company
completed a successful test fire of a Raptor rocket on Monday.
Musk
said a spacecraft headed to Mars would need to use 42 Raptor engines at once
"You
could lose multiple engines," he said Tuesday, "and continue the
mission safely."
The
initial goal is to pair the enormous rocket with a spaceship capable of carrying
about 100 people (plus their luggage.)
Structure of the Lead：
WHO- Elon Musk
WHEN-Tuesday
WHAT- put humans on Mars
WHY-. wants
to make humans an interplanetary species
WHERE-Mars, Mexico
HOW-not given
Keywords:
Orbit
(n.): 軌道
Enormous
(adj.): 巨大的
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