SpaceX's goal is to colonize Mars. And the first expedition there will undoubtedly be extremely dangerous. Even just ignoring the dangers getting there. When yo

SpaceX's goal is to colonize Mars. And the first expedition there will undoubtedly be extremely dangerous. Even just ignoring the dangers getting there. When you're there you're literally 140 million miles away from the nearest aid, and you're doing something that literally no human has ever done before in an environment where if you breathe the atmosphere, you die. If you run out of electricty, you die. If you're exposed to the pressure of the atmosphere, you die. If your food resources go bad, you die. If your air filtering system breaks, you die. And so on. And I would wager that they will have extremely qualified people lining up out the door to take on that risk, and even pay for it if necessary. The ability to be part of something incredible and the immense challenge and possibility there are going to be an incredible driver for the right sort of people. For reference look at our developments leading up to the Apollo mission. The danger there cannot be overstated, and guys like Buzz Aldrin aren't just adrenalin junky pilots. He received his doctorate from MIT. His thesis (Line-of-Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous) having the dedication, "In the hopes that this work may in some way contribute to their exploration of space, this is dedicated to the crew members of this country’s present and future manned space programs. If only I could join them in their exciting endeavors!".