Elon Musk: One of the benefits of going to Mars is…

Elon Musk has been vocal about humans relocating to Mars. In a recent interview, the SpaceX CEO discussed his vision for Mars colonisation, saying that the long-term survival of humanity is making life multi-planetary. He also shared "one of the benefits of going to Mars".“It's not about going to Mars to visit once, but it is to make life multiplanetary so that we can expand the scope and scale of consciousness to better understand the nature of the universe and to ensure the long-term survival of civilization," he said."In the hopefully unlikely event that something terrible happens to Earth, [there could be] a continuance of consciousness on Mars. One of the benefits of Mars is life insurance for life collectively,” he added.

Musk names first colony on Mars

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has proposed “Terminus” as the potential name for the first city on Mars, drawing inspiration from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. Responding to a post on X (formerly Twitter),

Musk

confirmed the suggestion but emphasised that the final decision should rest with the future Martian settlers.“Ultimately, it will be up to the people of Mars to decide,” he said.The naming suggestion follows Musk’s announcement that SpaceX aims to launch its first uncrewed Starship mission to Mars as early as the end of 2025. The mission will carry Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, and serve as a critical precursor to future crewed missions.“If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely,” Musk stated, laying out a tentative timeline for human exploration of the Red Planet.The update came as SpaceX marked its 23rd anniversary on March 14. Musk used the occasion to reiterate the company’s long-term goal of making life multiplanetary. However, recent technical setbacks continue to pose challenges. On March 6, SpaceX experienced its second Starship test failure, with the vehicle exploding during its eighth test flight, highlighting the steep path ahead in Musk's Mars vision.