Elon Musk said he's 'definitely going to be dead' before humans go to Mars — and you probably will be too

When it comes to space exploration, there is one name that has, quite literally, rocketed itself to the top of everyone's mind. Since SpaceX was founded in 2002, the company has launched their Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets on more than 370 missions, and spearheading the company is Elon Musk, the controversial Businessman who also holds the reigns at Tesla and X (formerly Twitter).

In the new book "SpaceX: Elon Musk and the Final Frontier" (Motorbooks), science journalist Brad Bergan creates a fascinating picture of Musk's vision and how he came to build a business that has become vital to national agencies like NASA, and other ventures that have ambitions of exploring space.

In this excerpt, he explores the enormous costs involved with space travel, and why, despite the potential riches at stake, it might just be better to stay grounded for a while still.

"If we don't improve our pace of progress, I'm definitely going to be dead before we go to Mars," said Elon Musk at the Satellite 2020 conference in Washington, D.C., according to a report from the Los Angeles Times. "If it's taken us 18 years just to get ready to do the first people in orbit, we've got to improve our rate of innovation or, based on past trends, I am definitely going to be dead before Mars."

It was a sobering reflection of a dark reality that gives anyone pause. Whether you love the promise of space Travel, hate the toll modern industries levy on the poor, or are completely indifferent — death is a constant reminder that no matter what you do, or what you build, its final fate will likely happen long after your life has expired.

This is something most readers will have in common with Musk: A human journey to Mars is very likely in the coming decades. But a settlement on Mars developed enough to support non essential personnel, with interplanetary tickets cheap enough to serve as a viable escape hatch from Earth for at least the middle class of the United States? Don't bank on it in your lifetime — at least, not within the time frame where the physically Healthiest among us could withstand the environmental and psychological pressures of the months-long journey there.

In terms of cost, Musk has said he's "confident" that moving to Mars could eventually cost less than $500,000 — and "maybe even" less than $100,000. These figures were given in 2019. Not to hold a very rough estimation to an economic magnifying glass, but that's nearly $600,000 and $120,000, in 2023 dollars, adjusted for iNFLation.