Why Mars Died, and Earth Lived || Elon Musk's Plan To Colonize Mars

 Why Mars Died, and Earth Lived 

The Mars rover, Curiosity, is the latest in a long line of missions to Mars… Landers sent to scoop its soil and study its rocks, orbiters sent to map its valleys and ridges. They are all asking the same question. Did liquid water once flow on this dry and dusty world? Did it support life in any form? And are there remnants left to find? The science that comes out of these missions may help answer a much larger, more philosophical question… Is our planet Earth the norm, in a galaxy run through with life-bearing planets? Or is Earth a rare gem, with a unique make-up and history that allowed it to give rise to living things? On Mars, Curiosity has spotted pebbles and other rocks commonly associated with flowing water. It found them down stream on what appears to be an ancient river fan, where water flowed down into Gale Crater. This shows that at some point in the past, Mars had an atmosphere, cloudy skies, and liquid water flowing. So what could have turned it into the desolate world we know today? One process that very likely played a role goes by the unscientific name, “sputtering.” Like the other planets in our solar system, Mars is lashed by high-energy photons from the Sun. When one of these photons enters the atmosphere of a planet, it can crash into a molecule, knocking loose an electron and turning it into an ion. The solar wind brings something else: a giant magnetic field. When part of the field grazes the planet, it can attract ions and launch them out into space. Another part might fling ions right into the atmosphere at up to a thousand kilometers per second. The ions crash into other molecules, sending them in all directions like balls in a game of pool. Over billions of years, this process could have literally stripped Mars of its atmosphere, especially in the early life of the solar system when the solar wind was more intense than it is today. Sputtering has actually been spotted directly on another dead planet, Venus. The Venus Express mission found that solar winds are steadily stripping off lighter molecules of hydrogen and oxygen. They escape the planet on the night side, then ride solar breezes on out into space. This process has left Venus with an atmosphere dominated by carbon dioxide gas, a heat trapping compound that has helped send surface temperatures up to around 400 degrees Celsius. The loss of Venus’ atmosphere likely took place over millions of years, especially during solar outbursts known as coronal mass ejections. If these massive blast waves stripped Venus and Mars of an atmosphere capable of supporting life… how did Earth avoid the same grim fate? We can see the answer as the solar storm approaches earth. Our planet has what Mars and Venus lack - a powerful magnetic field generated deep within its core. This protective shield deflects many of the high-energy particles launched by the Sun. In fact, that’s just our first line of defense. Much of the solar energy that gets through is reflected back to space by clouds, ice, and snow. 

The energy that earth absorbs is just enough to power a remarkable planetary engine: the climate. It’s set in motion by the uneveness of solar heating, due in part to the cycles of day and night, and the seasons. That causes warm, tropical winds to blow toward the poles, and cold polar air toward the equator. Wind currents drive surface ocean currents. This computer simulation shows the Gulf Stream winding its way along the coast of North America. This great ocean river carries enough heat energy to power the industrial world a hundred times over. It breaks down in massive whirlpools that spread warm tropical waters over northern seas. Below the surface, they mix with cold deep currents that swirl around undersea ledges and mountains. Earth’s climate engine has countless moving parts: tides and terrain, cross winds and currents -- all working to equalize temperatures around the globe. Over time, earth developed a carbon cycle and an effective means of regulating green house gases. In our galaxy, are still-born worlds like Mars the norm? Or in Earth, has Nature crafted a prototype for its greatest experiment: Life?

Elon Musk's Plan To Colonize Mars

Elon Musk's mission to Mars might sound like a fictional story but the billionaires vision is quickly heading towards reality if he and his brainchild SpaceX contact the human race from Earth dwellers to a multi planet Aryan race it will be the most ambitious and expensive project in history costing up to 10 trillion dollars in today's video we're looking at Elon Musk's timeline - colonizing Mars and ultimately the cost of this intergalactic endeavor the initial idea of Musk's to get man to mars started way back in 2002 when he was in the midst of selling paypal and pondering on his sofa what's next how building rocket ships in exploring the universe became the obvious progression is mystery but either way the seat for SpaceX was well and truly planted after seeing that there was nobody with a space program for Mars exploration in place 

Instead of being discouraged musk started working frantically on making the journey both financially and literally possible the initial idea was to send a small greenhouse to Mars packed with dehydrated nutrient gel that could be rehydrated to grow small house plants on arrival sounds a little pointless I know but what you would get is a glimpse at the very first life on Mars to our knowledge invaluable data about what it takes to keep something simple like plants alive on Mars and a set of inspiring photographs that might just get the planet excited about space travel becoming legitimate with no expectations of turning a profit musk said that if he could afford it it would be a worthwhile expense however he quickly realized that he couldn't the cheapest US made rockets was 65 million dollars a pop and he would need two of them Russian made ones would have been much cheaper at 20 million dollars each but with 1960s technology and questionable reliability the Soviet offerings were also out it quickly became apparent that people weren't going to Mars not because they didn't want to but because it was just too expensive nobody is standing in line to send 130 million dollars into space with no scope for a return so the mission to Mars became more about improving rocket technology making it more efficient and cost-effective than simply getting to the destination okay the end goal is to get people to the destination and hopefully be able to get back to but progression in rocket technology is now at the core of what SpaceX does and is the backbone to what they can potentially achieve assuming all goes to plan musk believes that the first SpaceX rocket could be heading for Mars as soon as 2022 and a permanent self-sustaining city could take shape as early as 2050 here's how it's going down and what the future plans are for this once unimaginable quest everything that SpaceX has done to date has very much been paving the road to Mars the countless satellite launches hop tests and rocket technology developments have instilled confidence in Musk's ability to deliver his vision 2020 will be the year of testing and funding with three launches completed already this year and more than 36 in the pipeline I think saying that SpaceX are perfecting their craft would be a real understatement 24 of the 35 launches intend to carry 60 star link internet satellites which will form space access superfast broadband service the internet venture is set to bring in around 22 billion dollars in profits yearly by 2025 who needs investors when you can sell the world's most sought-after commodity Wi-Fi 2020 will also see SpaceX sending at its first manned rocket which could launch as early as May 2021 we'll see SpaceX flagship rocket the starship embarking on its very first commercial flight the starship will be the first ever fully reusable rocket and we'll be able to bring things into space be it people satellites or Mars rovers and bring them back to the starship we'll also lay the foundation for Musk's plans to replace traditional airplane travel with rocket travel he says that with the use of reusable launchers and passenger rockets you could fly anywhere in the world in around 30 minutes for the price of a regular economy plane ticket 2022 will be the absolute earliest year that SpaceX reaches Mars every two years Earth and Mars align at their closest point so it's naturally the best time for a launch musk has suggested that in 2022 he would like to send at least two unmanned ships to the Red Planet carrying up to 100 tons of power mining and life support infrastructure for future flights the likelihood of these flights going ahead are slim but with musk you really do never know 2023 is when SpaceX has sketched in its most solid date in their diary this is when they plan on sending Japanese billionaire yuusaku Miyazawa along with six to eight other accompanying artists on a trip around the moon and back this will be SpaceX's first commercial passenger flight and its success would farewell with cautious on lookers who questioned the place of rocket technology in passenger travel if the 2022 plans for Mars do not go ahead which is probable 2024 will be the next time the two planets align so will be the ideal moment for a second attempt at sending the first mass bound shuttles of cargo if SpaceX manages to send the two ships successfully to Mars must says that the next steps will all point towards a fully manned mission the interplanetary pioneers will be tasked with setting up a propellant production plant where they would make rocket fuel by combining Martian ice water and carbon dioxide to create methane and liquid oxygen aka rocket propellant being able to create this fuel on Mars would be vital as it would be their only guaranteed ticket home musk has said that the first visit will be by no means allegedly one and any future ventures to Mars rely on its success 2025 is the earliest year that must believes his Mars colony could really start to take shape the lead Mars development engineer for SpaceX explained that subsequent launches following the very first would build on what's already there with every new Mars landing growth and expansion would be the underlying goal he says that the idea would be rapid expansion start with a village then a town growing into a city and then hopefully one day multiple cities the city centers would house habitats greenhouses and life support infrastructure to serve surrounding suburbs with 2026 being the third alignment this year will most likely see more ships being sent to Mars than ever before what's gone up in the years prior will test the waters and if it seems legitimately viable which must believes it will be 2026 will see the Mars City really establish itself if 2026 seas really infrastructure permanent habitable places popping up on Mars having a fully fledged city by 2050 doesn't seem like such an out-there proposition by the end of this decade musk believe strongly that he will have some sort of settlement on the red planet and that in his lifetime there's a 70% chance he'll make a personal visit himself whether or not SpaceX will be able to stick to this master plan is one thing but what about the big elephant standing in the room the financials musk has left the door wide open when answering this question stating that putting a city on Mars within the next three decades could cost anywhere between 100 billion dollars and 10 trillion dollars the finance calculations are based around the thinking that a city on Mars would require the transport of 1 million tons of cargo minimum a low estimate of 100 thousand dollars per tonne is how we get to the 100 billion dollar number but this doesn't take into account the cost of everything that goes on behind the saint's rocket scientists and astronauts are not known for being very cheap and SpaceX is going to need quite a few of them development of materials endless amounts of testing licensing insurances all of these things cost money and money that will indefinitely play a significant part on the suggested bottom line it's not set in stone that musk is going to be able to afford the venture but the potential of twenty two billion dollars a year from the internet company sure is going to help if 100 billion dollars covers the cost that is if the cost of building the mass city rises even close to the upper estimates we will be venturing into a whole new ballgame ten trillion dollars is an almost unimaginable amount of money and would make the venture the most expensive construction project in human history being so ludicrously costly begs the question of why does musk actually want to do this I'm sure one of the first things that you learn in entrepreneur school is to not throw loads of money at something that's not likely to turn a profit but maybe there's more to his plans than just money in a 20-18 presser he said that there's so many things that make people sad or depressed about the future but I think becoming a spacefaring civilization is one of those things that makes you excited about the future that is the intent of starship to make people excited about the future the fact that getting the human race to Mars could be the most expensive project in history doesn't seem to bother musk in the slightest maybe he has some hidden tricks up his sleeve that will lend him a pretty return or perhaps he simply believes that you can't put a price tag on leading human exploration one thing that's for certain is that Elon Musk and the work of SpaceX is making the here and now an incredibly exciting time to be alive we will all be watching with eager eyes over the next few years as the true potential for earth 2.0 starts to come to light the proposed cost of a ticket to Mars is set to be around two hundred and fifty thousand dollars with the idea being that you can sell your home and buy yourself a new life on Mars if musk is successful with his timeline will you be buying a ticket in 2050.

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