In an interview with GQ, Tesla Motors and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk explained some of the potential obstacles to one of his greatest ambitions: creating a living community on the red planet Mars.
First, Musk says there’s a chance humans will not always have the technologies to get us to Mars.
“There’s a window that could be opened for a long time or a short time where we have an opportunity to establish a self-sustaining base on Mars before something happens to drive the technology level on Earth below where it’s possible,” he said.
Musk fears the window of opportunity might close before Earth and its transportation system to and from Mars could become self-sustaining.
More notably, he also feared how a “third World War” could impact technological progress.
“I don’t think we can discount the possibility of a third World War,” Musk said. “You know, in 1912 they were proclaiming a new age of peace and prosperity, saying that it was a golden age, war was over. And then you had World War I followed by World War II followed by the Cold War. So I think we need to acknowledge that there's certainly a possibility of a third World War, and if that does occur it could be far worse than anything that's happened before. Let's say nuclear weapons are used. I mean, there could be a very powerful social movement that's anti-technology. There's also growth in religious extremism. Like, I mean, does ISIS grow…?"
You can read more about Musk’s thoughts on Mars, as well as his thoughts on self-driving cars, a next-generation spacesuit and much more, over at GQ.
