Elon Musk He is more emboldened than ever. Betting on Trump was his great strategy and, finally, after the Republican’s victory, he will have more possibilities to carry out his objectives. And one of his greatest aspirations is to reach Mars, a plan that has been in development for some years. But the businessman even dares to think about what democracy should be like on the neighboring planet.
Musk imagines a direct democracy in which the colonists vote on laws without intermediaries, in such a way that a more agile and understandable system is sought than that on Earth. The Xataka portal compiled some of the magnate’s ideas regarding what the government on the red planet should be like.
“Laws must be brief, because there is a trick in length”said the businessman, referring to his vision of a system where bureaucracy does not suffocate progress.
Musk proposes that all regulations have an automatic expiration date, forcing them to be renewed periodically to prevent them from becoming a burden. Additionally, it suggests that 40% of the population have the ability to veto any legislation.
Optimism in the race to Mars
In the logistics field, Musk is optimistic about SpaceX’s progress in its goal of colonizing Mars. The company plans to launch the first unmanned Starship spacecraft to the planet in the next two years, taking advantage of the orbital windows that allow transfer between Mars and Earth every 26 months. These initial missions will be key to testing landings and laying the foundations for future manned expeditions.
If the tests are successful, missions with humans could be carried out within four years, according to the founder of SpaceX. The ultimate goal is to build a self-sufficient city on Mars that can be developed with local resources. Musk estimates that this ambitious project could be completed in 20 or 30 years, although, yes, it would require thousands of Starship ships, whose development is currently financed with contracts from NASA, the Pentagon and Starlink revenues.
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And if everything goes as planned, the technological leader estimates that the cost of making humanity multiplanetary will be around $1 trillion, a figure he considers manageable if spread over several decades. According to him, Mars could become a refuge for humanity, ensuring its survival in the event of catastrophes on Earth.
The challenges of terraforming Mars
However, not everyone shares the optimism of the SpaceX founder. Planetary scientists warn that current conditions on Mars present almost insurmountable challenges. According to a study in Nature Astronomy, the levels of carbon dioxide and water vapor available on the planet are insufficient to achieve significant warming that would allow terraforming.
Worse still, doubling the Martian atmosphere could take millions of years, while alternatives such as introducing materials via asteroids or meteorites are beyond the reach of current technology.