Elon Musk recently outlined his plan to colonize Mars, but now it seems he’s not the only player in the race to the Red Planet.
Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg says he’s “convinced the first person to step foot on Mars will arrive there riding a Boeing rocket.” That’s a bold statement given the advancements Musk’s SpaceX program has already made, but the aerospace corporation isn’t just talk.
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Boeing has a strong track record of getting things done. They helped America get to the moon by building the first stage of the Saturn V rocket, not to mention they’re one of the leading aerospace companies in the world. Boeing also has been working with NASA to build the Space Launch System – the agency’s most powerful rocket to date.
But Musk took Muilenburg’s challenge in stride, arguing that competition is healthy for an endeavor as ambitious as flying to Mars.
I think it’s actually much better for the world if there are multiple companies or organizations building these interplanetary spacecraft,” Musk said. “You know, the more the better. Anything, I think, that improves the probability of the future is good. And so multiple companies doing it, I think, would be great. So I wanted to come describe the architecture actually in the hopes that this would encourage companies and organizations around the world to perhaps do something like this.”
The two companies’ timelines for reaching Mars are pretty close together. SpaceX hopes to have boots on the Red Planet by 2024, while NASA and Boeing are aiming for 2030.
In the grand scope of things though, it really doesn’t matter who gets there first, as it will be another giant step for mankind.
[ H/T Engadget ]
