In a tweet on Sunday, Elon Musk expressed confidence that ticket to the Red Planet might cost as low as $100,000, which is affordable to most people in advanced economies. However the expense would depend on the number of passengers willing to take up the trip.
In order to run a successful trip to Mars, SpaceX estimates that each flight should have as many as 100 paying passengers on board. So return tickets from the Red Planet will be free, Musk, the CEO of privately held rocket company SpaceX, said in his tweet.
Despite not yet designing an actual interplanetary space mission capable of carrying humans, Musk said SpaceX ships would also travel back and forth between Mars and Earth.
Before taking up the Mars project, SpaceX has ambitious plans send tourists to the space in 2023.
Very dependent on volume, but I’m confident moving to Mars (return ticket is free) will one day cost less than $500k & maybe even below $100k. Low enough that most people in advanced economies could sell their home on Earth & move to Mars if they want.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 11, 2019
In December, SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral to launch 64 tiny satellites to orbit. “Falcon fairing halves missed the net, but touched down softly in the water. Mr. Steven is picking them up. Plan is to dry them out & launch again. Nothing wrong with a little swim," Musk tweeted after Falcon first stage made a water landing in the Atlantic Ocean.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon will evaluate the certification for Elon Musk's SpaceX launch vehicles to determine whether the U.S. Air Force complied with certain guidelines this month, reports Reuters. “Our objective is to determine whether the U.S. Air Force complied with the Launch Services New Entrant Certification Guide when certifying the launch system design for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle-class SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles,” U.S. Department Of Defense Deputy Inspector General Michael Roark said in a memo.
