SpaceX’s Starlink To Provide Internet For 1 Million People Who Will Colonize Mars

• According to Gwynee Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, the company is aiming to provide internet for 1 million people who will colonize Mars in the future by using Starlink technology.
• Stable communication between Earth and the Red Planet is a must, she explained.
• CEO Elon Musk hopes to establish a city of 1 million people there by 2050.

We’ve repeatedly heard Elon Musk talk about his ambitious plan to send 1 million people to Mars. Now we’re getting more details about it, courtesy of SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynee Shotwell.

In a recent interview with TIME Magazine, Shotwell shared about how they will provide internet technology for the people who will colonize the Red Planet.

Shotwell explained:

“Once we take people to Mars, they are going to need a capability to communicate. In fact, I think it will be even more critical to have a constellation like Starlink around Mars.

And then, of course, you need to connect the two planets as well, so we make sure we have robust telecom between Mars and back on Earth.”

She further shared:

“Elon founded this company with the entire purpose of building a space transportation capability that would allow humans to move to other planets.

I remember when I was interviewing with Elon in 2002 and he had such an ambitious goal, it sounded absolutely insane at the time. Now almost 20 years later, it doesn’t actually sound that insane. Well at least not to the insiders.”

Last January, Musk shared that the plan is to send 1 million people to Mars by 2050. This will be achieved by launching three flights everyday with 100 passengers each.

Shotwell, however, was quick to say that no, they’re “not giving up on Earth” despite Space X’s dreams of occupying the Red Planet.

“It’s not giving up on Earth, it’s actually just giving humanity another shot in case there were to be some horrible event,” she pointed out.

Watch the full interview here: