Elon Musk’s dream of making it possible for man to live in the planet Mars may happen earlier than expected, as recent works have been able to produce oxygen in the red planet, thereby making it rather unnecessary to move oxygen from earth in the future, Clariform has learnt.
WHAT WE KNOW
SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk’s plans of taking humans to planet Mars without carrying oxygen from the earth, is close to becoming a reality.
Musk has openly made known his dreams of life on Mars. He had targeted 2026 as the year he would have achieved this, as his company SpaceX by then would be able to transport humans to Mars.
However, recent success of a team supported by NASA managed to produce oxygen on Mars seven times over an 18 months period.
News reports this past week showed scientists transformed carbon dioxide on Mars with an instrument the size of a lunchbox.
The In-Situ resource utilization experiment (also known as Moxie) was able to create oxygen at the rate of a small tree, across different seasons and day and night.
With this latest result, astronauts could land on Mars without breathing aides. With this development – creation of oxygen, rockets can be fuelled for it’s return.
If this is successful, then Elon Musk dream of commercially transporting humans to Mars is nearing a reality.
NOTABLE QUOTES
MIT research scientist, Dr Michael Hecht, who was been working on the project, said: “We have learned a tremendous amount that will inform future systems at a larger scale.”
MOXIE deputy principal investigator Jeffrey Hoffman added,
“This is the first demonstration of actually using resources on the surface of another planetary body, and transforming them chemically into something that would be useful for a human mission.
“It’s historic in that sense.”
BACKGROUND
Elon Musk SpaceX has a contract with the National Space Agency (NASA), to build a spacecraft to land in the moon after the 1972 landing.
To secure the lucrative deal, Musk saw off competition from reputable firms including Blue Origin project own by Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos and other competitors who wanted same project.
Elon Musk is also the CEO of Tesla Motors which is a major maker of electric cars in the major countries of the world.
COMMENTARY
If Elon Musk succeeds in making space travel easier than what it is now, what will be cost? How many of the world population can afford it? How will it answer the many unanswered questions in today’s world?
While this landmark progress towards life is Mars is commendable and a testimony that man can indeed dominate his world and the world beyond, it is also a testament of the inequality in the world and backwardness of African nations that are yet to overcome challenges of drinkable water and food for her ever growing population.
While Elon Musk and many others have gone beyond basic technology to dominate the earth, Nigeria, as exemplified by Aviation Minister is still struggling with kicking off a national carrier.
The best the Buhari`s aviation projects has achieved in almost seven years is launching of a logo for the proposed national carrier. Maybe, they thought the logo would have been able to fly?
But where do we even start, when for seven months and still counting our public universities have been locked with government showing little serious in resolving the ASUU strike and opening the universities and provide adequate fund for research even of basic technology, before we think of new innovations.
