Elon Musk: We Have to Get to Mars Because of "Nuclear Armageddon" on Earth – Futurism

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is extremely keen on getting humanity off this planet.

And thats more important than ever given the fact that humanity is staring down the barrelof climate change, comet strikes, and dropping birth rates not to mention, in his words, good ol nuclear Armageddon.

During an appearanceatthe National Academies joint meeting of the Space Studies Board and Board on Physics and Astronomy, Musk elaborated on his ambitious plans to get a permanent base on Mars established.

Musks concerns are about mitigating the civilizational risks we that we can potentially mitigate and making humanity multiplanetary is chief among the ways we can do that, according to the CEO.

If you wait long enough, you know, Earth will become uninhabitable, Musk mused. So in the long run we are obviously all dead, he added with a chuckle.

The first few trips to Mars may be a bumpy ride, Musk admitted, referring to how the first Atlantic crossings were terrible.

At last years Humans to Mars summit, Musk also said that building a base on Mars will be very hard and dangerous.

Not for the faint of heart, he added at the time. Good chance youll die. And its going to be tough, tough going, but itll be pretty glorious if it works out.

While rocketing off to Mars, the view in our rearview mirrors may not be pretty. In fact, it sounds like Muskis already anticipating the worst for our current planet.

Theres always a risk of a comet taking out a continent, Musk said during this weeks joint meeting, arguing that there were plenty of sort of continent-level extinction events that have occurred in the fossil record that dont get talked about much.

But bigger rockets may allow us to fend off incoming comets or space rockets and one day save billions of people,he said.

Its convenient, of course, that Musk says that the biggest dangers to humanity are ones that his precise business interests can defend against.

Still, the threats to our existence on planet Earth are real. Musk also highlighted carbon emissions in the atmosphere and the melting of the tundra, adding that he is probably less alarmist than most when it comes to the environment.

Musk also reiterated his worry about the decline of global birth rates, an underappreciated risk, with many population rates dropping with no end in sight.

Apart from comets, climate change and dropping birth rates potentially driving our species to extinction, theres always good ol nuclear Armageddon, Musk added. Thats not out of the question.

I dont know what quite that risk is but its not zero, he said.

More on the event: Elon Musk Says First Orbital Starship Launch May Explode

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Elon Musk: We Have to Get to Mars Because of "Nuclear Armageddon" on Earth - Futurism