Threats of a global catastrophe due to which the founder of the American company SpaceX, Elon Musk, wants to start colonizing Mars, are exaggerated. This was stated by the leading researcher of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Vyacheslav Turyshev.
He noted that the probability, for example, of a large asteroid falling to Earth exists, but is extremely low.
"Other causes of the demise of civilization are also unlikely or can be prevented. Therefore, the thesis of our relocation to Mars is poorly justified, " the scientist said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
Turyshev added that NASA has created a technology that allows you to search for fast-moving asteroids that are dangerous for the Earth. This allows you to track these types of objects and prevent dangerous situations.
The scientist added that there are a number of difficulties that do not yet allow us to talk about the mass migration of people to Mars. They are associated not only with large overloads, which not all people are able to withstand, but also with the lack of a number of life support technologies.
According to him, in particular, the risk of cancer increases from the impact of space radiation
"Secondly, after a long flight, the muscles will be atrophied, the calcium will be washed out of the bones. No physical work can be done on the surface of Mars by humans. Not to mention the risk of injury with such a weakened body, " Turyshev added.
The expert noted that life on Mars will require a restructuring of the entire human body, which is not fully in the hands of medicine and can cause additional difficulties. At the same time, Turyshev stressed that people like Musk, who set ambitious goals for themselves, are important for the development of technology and allow humanity to succeed on the way to obtaining new knowledge.
In November last year, Musk said that to build a settlement that will be able to function independently on Mars, it will take about a thousand Starship ships and at least 3 million tons of resources and equipment. Each launch will cost SpaceX about $2 million. He noted that the Earth and Mars approach at a distance sufficient for flights, once every two years. Therefore, it will take about 20 years to deliver the goods.
On May 5, a prototype of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft, which is scheduled to be sent to the Red Planet along with 100 passengers, successfully landed at a test site in Texas. Testing of the prototype is carried out regularly, several previous launches ended in failure.
