SpaceX founder and lead designer Elon Musk feels that Mars spaceships will be ready for short flights by the first half of next year.
At an event in Texas, Musk said that if there is a world war III, there is “some probability” that there will be another Dark Ages.
He said that bases on the Moon and Mars could help preserve human civilization and hasten its regeneration on earth in the event of a third world war.
Musk added that SpaceX’s interplanetary ship could begin test flights as soon as next year.
“We want to make sure that there’s enough of a seed of human civilization somewhere else to bring civilization back, and perhaps shorten the length of the Dark Ages,” he said.
“I think a moon base and a Mars base that could perhaps help regenerate life back here on earth would be really important,” he added.
SpaceX had last month launched the world’s most powerful rocket -- Falcon Heavy, sending Musk’s red Tesla Roadster car toward an orbit near Mars.
Falcon Heavy is the most powerful operational rocket on the planet. It has more than 5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, equal to approximately eighteen 747 aircraft at full power.
