At first, the mere idea of Elon Musk wanting to drop nuclear weapons on Mars for any reason appears to be satirical. After all, why would anyone want to drop such weapons of mass destruction on the Red Planet?
The billionaire has stated on more than one occasion a way to make Mars more Earth-like and thus easier to support permanent human colonies is to melt the planet's icecaps with nuclear weapons.
How many nukes would it take to hypothetically melt the ice caps and warm up the planet?
10,000 missiles.
Popular Mechanics told the tale with the article, Elon Musk Needs +10,000 Missiles to Nuke Mars, 'No Problem,' He Says.
Musk was prompted by a Twitter user who shared a Russian News Agency TASS article where a Russian space official called SpaceX’s Mars terraforming plans into question.“For example, for a thermonuclear explosion on Mars’ pole, one of the plans of SpaceX, to have tangible results, more than 10,000 launches of missiles that can carry the largest payloads and are being developed now are needed,” that official said in an interview.
There are ways of making Mars more like Earth. Using life to create an atmosphere was mentioned by the author of Cosmos, the late Carl Sagan.
Genetically engineered microbes could be a way to produce a breathable atmosphere on Mars via the microbes’ photosynthesis. They would face harsh living conditions, but the recent Israeli mission to our moon is testament to how hardy microbes are. An unknown number of tardigrades were on board the craft and they might still be alive (and if so, they’re probably wondering what just happened to them).
With Musk being so close to President Trump is it out of the question that Musk floats a nuclear strike on Mars?
Only time will tell.
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