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Are humans really on their way to Mars? For decades, setting foot on the planet has been a staple of science fiction. But today, the US, China and Elon Musk have set their sights on making that dream a reality.
President Donald Trump has pledged to “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars”, China could send its first crewed mission to Mars within a decade, and Elon Musk wants people to actually settle on Mars, transforming the human race into an interplanetary species.
In a new series of Tech Tonic, the FT’s Peggy Hollinger asks if we’re really about to land, and even live, on the red planet.
Listen to the full series, read episode transcripts and watch the trailer below. Or subscribe and listen to Tech Tonic for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Listen to Episode 3: Bad science fiction
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For decades, science fiction writers have envisaged colonising Mars, even building cities on the red planet. Advocates for Mars exploration, such as Elon Musk, want to make that vision a reality. But can humans really live in an alien world?
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US President Donald Trump wants to “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars”. But more than 50 years on from the moon landings, America’s space agency, Nasa, is in disarray. Meanwhile, China is forging ahead with its own plans for manned missions to the Moon and perhaps to Mars. Who will win the race to the red planet?
Listen to Episode 1: Elon Musk’s ‘Starship’ enterprise
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Elon Musk wants humans to settle on Mars, and his rocket company SpaceX is spending billions of dollars on developing the spacecraft to take us there. The ‘Starship’ is being designed to take astronauts back to the moon, and eventually, on to the red planet. But why is Musk so obsessed with building a colony on Mars, and is he really the man to take us there?
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Peggy Hollinger is the FT’s international business editor and writes a fortnightly column for Inside Business as well as features and news on European industry. In her 35 years at the FT, she has held a variety of editing and reporting roles in London, Paris and Tokyo. These included Paris bureau chief, UK companies editor, Industry Editor, Leader writer and a secondment as Nikkei Asia business editor. She has also covered the aerospace, space, retail, oil and gas, and utilities sectors.
