By Ben Chaddha ‘21, News Writer

Elon Musk has often been considered a visionary for the future of space exploration. Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, the year before he started the electric car company Tesla. In 2012, SpaceX became the first commercial aerospace company to deliver supplies to the international space station, and Musk has claimed that SpaceX will attempt to have a base on Mars in 2028.

Recently, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa paid Musk to be the first “tourist ” to travel into space via the SpaceX BFR (Big Falcon Rocket) Spaceship Rocket Combo. The trip, which Musk said would be ready in as few as five years, will send Maezawa and 6-8 other Japanese artists on the first tourist space flight. Musk warned Maezawa of the dangers of space travel, saying, “This is no walk in the park, when you’re pushing the frontier, it’s not a sure thing.” Maezawa is up to the challenge of space travel even though it will put extreme stresses on the body. When thanking Maezawa, Musk said: “This has done a lot to restore my faith in humanity — that somebody’s willing to do this, he is ultimately helping to pay for the average citizen to be able to travel to other planets. It’s a great thing.”

SpaceX’s BFR Spaceship will stand at 387 feet tall, will feature three rear fins and two fins near the front, and will be reusable. The five rear fins will act like small wings during flight, while also serving as landing pads. The spaceship can fit up to 100 people, but for its first mission, Musk plans to have a smaller crew to accommodate more supplies in case there is an issue during the trip. If everything goes according to plan and the spaceship launches in 2023, Maezawa will be the first person in over 50 years to exit Earth’s orbit (since NASA’s Apollo 17 moon mission was in 1972). NASA also plans to launch a rocket to the moon in the same time frame.

In addition to sending a tourist to space, SpaceX is designing a base that could mark the beginning of colonization on Mars. Musk suggested that a Mars base could be ready as soon as 2028. Before humans begin to colonize Mars, Musk plans to send a total of 6 BFR ships to Mars, unmanned, in order to prepare for the eventual arrival of humans. When humans are sent on such an expedition, they would live off the supplies in the BFRs for the first few years. In a recent press conference, Musk discussed what type of government there would be on the new planet. Musk explained that the society would be a direct democracy that votes on specific laws, topics, and discussions rather than having a representative government. Musk suggests that the new colony should “keep laws short” so they are not left to interpretation and are hard and fast rules.

SpaceX has many exciting plans for the future of space and humankind and today stands as one of the largest private space-oriented companies in the world. Despite this, Musk’s recent settlement with the SEC means all of Musk’s assets could be under closer watch in the future. This settlement has included a 20 million dollar fine and a requirement for Musk to step down as chairman of Tesla. Once the specifics of the settlement are reached, Musk will likely be able to direct more attention to SpaceX. SpaceX has an outlook that will keep humankind tackling the new frontier that is space.