SpaceX’s rockets will be safe enough for human travel in only two to three years, said company CEO Elon Musk on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert Wednesday night.
After showing a clip of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket exploding earlier this year, Colbert asked the billionaire visionary when it would be safe enough for him to take a ride in one of Musk's space rockets.
“I think in terms of when it will be safe enough for people is probably about two to three years,” Musk replied.
SpaceX has a deal with NASA to shuttle astronauts to the space station in just about two years, so the company will actually be transporting humans much sooner than most people realize.
During his appearance on the show, Musk also shared his thoughts on how we could make Mars a planet fit for humans. Musk said that while the planet is currently in rough shape, it has the potential to support human life if we just "warm it up."
Musk said there are two ways we could warm up Mars.
"There’s the fast way and the slow way. The fast way is drop thermo nuclear weapons over the polls," Musk said.
"The slow way would be to release greenhouse gasses like we are doing on earth. We’ve gotten a lot of experience doing that."
Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla Motors, is outspoken about the lasting effects greenhouse gasses are having on the earth. Earlier this year, Musk called burning fossil fuels the "dumbest experiment in human history," and during his interview with Colbert he reiterated this sentiment.
"I think the most important thing we need to solve this century is sustainable energy," Musk said.
