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Musk's justification as he speaks it is a drastically simplified version of what he's really trying to say - instead of a lifeboat, or a backup, think of a Mart

Musk's justification as he speaks it is a drastically simplified version of what he's really trying to say - instead of a lifeboat, or a backup, think of a Martian civilization as a technology development platform. All the stuff that they would have to come up with in order to survive, and eventually, thrive, would present a whole new class of advanced geoengineering and space technology that would be used on Earth and beyond. And if you're thinking, "why not just develop that specific technology that we need and save the money of a whole Mars venture", thats not how development of real, usable tech works. There are many things that were developed for one use that were eventually used for something else. R&D is a complex web of different ideas and solutions to different problems. Even if we don't realize all that we want to on Mars, the new booster system will open up many other options for Earth-based satellites that can be useful here and now [1]. Space science has been essential for studying climate change[2], and will continue to be in the future, even (and especially!) if that space tech extends to other planets. 1. http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2016/09/what-else-can-you-do-with-a-bi.html http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2016/09/what-els... 2. http://www.planetaryresources.com/earth-observation/#eo-intro http://www.planetaryresources.com/earth-observation/#eo-intr...

marktangotango 10y ago
The "other applications" are what I think most people miss, and what's really important. For example, a lot of people think asteroid mining and resource extraction will be huge. I am skeptical. Processing anything in zero gravity may prove to be intractable. I welcome anyone to ponder how to really actually mine an asteroid. In zero or near zero g, no earthly techniques work; pick axes, drills, etc. All new techniques will be required. I think the Martian killer app may turn out to be a not too inhospital, shallow gravity well, that can serve as the industrial jumping off point and base for developing the rest of the solar system.
IndianAstronaut 10y ago
Another thing to note is that if we can survive on Mars, then we can just as easily do so on the moon Callisto or dwarf planet Ceres.

marktangotango 10y ago

The "other applications" are what I think most people miss, and what's really important. For example, a lot of people think asteroid mining and resource extraction will be huge. I am skeptical. Processing anything in zero gravity may prove to be intractable. I welcome anyone to ponder how to really actually mine an asteroid. In zero or near zero g, no earthly techniques work; pick axes, drills, etc. All new techniques will be required. I think the Martian killer app may turn out to be a not too inhospital, shallow gravity well, that can serve as the industrial jumping off point and base for developing the rest of the solar system.

IndianAstronaut 10y ago

Another thing to note is that if we can survive on Mars, then we can just as easily do so on the moon Callisto or dwarf planet Ceres.