I think it’s also one of the most inspiring and interesting things that we could try to do. It’s one of the greatest adventures that humanity could ever embark upon. You know, life has to be about more than solving problems. If all that life is about is solving problems then why bother getting up in the morning? There have to be things that inspire you to be proud to be a member of humanity. The Apollo program is certainly an example of that. Only a handful of people went to the Moon, and yet, actually, we all went to the Moon. We went with them vicariously. We shared in that adventure. I don’t think anyone would say that was a bad idea. That was great. You know, we need more of those things. Or, at least, we need some of those things. Even if someone is in a completely different industry and a completely different walk of life, it’s still something that’s going to make you feel good about the world, and that’s the other reason why I think we should try to do these great things.
– Elon Musk, 2011
It’s hard to say more than that. So I’ll just say different things.
I didn’t really know who Elon Musk was until mid 2014, when the Oatmeal penned his excellent post about the Tesla Model S. It was pretty compelling, and put Musk on my radar. Then I was shot into legitimate fandom after reading Wait But Why’s massive exploration into Musk, Tesla, and SpaceX. Sarah calls me Elon’s Number One Fanboy, and I dream of the day when I can work at one of his companies.
No surprise, then, that I found the recent unveiling of the ‘path to mars’ pretty damn exciting.
I’m trying hard not to go all-in and 100% commit to being in the 2nd (or 3rd, at the latest) wave of Martian colonists. But it’s something that I’m very drawn to. I’m wired (or perhaps raised) to respond strongly to Big Ideas and Meaningful Endeavors.
Perhaps I’ll have a IFTTT series of conditions that will trigger a “go for mars” scenario. The following conditions will need to be met:
- There will have to be sufficient money for
- me to go
- Sarah to have enough for her own retirement
- Sarah’s vision will need to have been restored
- Liam will have to be on his feet as an adult
… and that’s about it.
Maybe, in the future, I’ll outline why the colonization of Mars enervates me so viscerally. But, for now, I’ll just bask in wonder and think of what might be.
If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.
– James Cameron
