The vast majority of people are likely to die before they eventually land on Mars
Elon Musk has recently made an ambiguous statement that instantly sent shock waves through the audience on Saturday Night Live. In one of the interviews with Peter Diamandis, who is not only the Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation but an international pioneer in the fields of innovation, incentive competitions, and commercial space, Musk has claimed that “a bunch of people will probably die” during their mission to Mars, especially at the beginning of their space voyage. Most scientists agreed that to properly colonize Mars, the voyagers should start getting used to the thought that they will not only bet their lives but even sacrifice. Most likely they will not be coming back to Earth. It is a one-way trip no matter how tragic it sounds. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
NASA has also admitted that first Mars colonists might not survive the journey because of numerous inconveniences they will face and one of them is lack of food. The journey to and from Mars takes 24 months because you have to wait for Earth and Mars to get to their closest point together to use the least amount of fuel possible. Canadian astronaut Chris Hatfield made a YouTube video while he was on the ISS, documenting what life was like up there, including how to do their daily routines, in particular eating and drinking in space. It is quite tricky, and certain foods are not allowed on the ISS because they can cause damage to equipment or spoil experiments. Much of the food is also dehydrated like an MRE, which suppresses its flavor and taste. Well, it certainly cannot be called a healthy and balanced diet but it is sustainable, and the astronauts get used to it sooner or later. Still, some of them may die during that two-year interim, and it definitely will not be the first time that people have died in space, either.
Space exploration has always had a cost. Over the past decade, Space X has launched more than 100 rockets but some of them either exploded or crashed. Colonizing the Red Planet is going to be arduous and dangerous with unexpected consequences and drastic outcomes for all early colonizers. That is why one must have balls of steel to become a volunteer to set off on a journey to Mars. The first human settlers are expected to land on Mars by 2026 and will need to found their first settlement with a population of 1 million people. Would you dare to become one of Mars explorers and make the next giant leap for humankind?
