Your dream of visiting the Red Planet may soon come true if the claim made by Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, actually comes to fruition. The commercial space travel entrepreneur told the BBC in an interview that he’s figured out how to send a person on a round-trip journey to Mars and back, and that it could be ready in as little as ten years. The best part? Musk says that the “average person” could afford the trip since it will only cost $500,000. I’m not sure which average person he means, but you can bet I am going to be getting a second job for the next ten years to try to make it!

Known for its Dragon spacecraft that has been awarded the contract to make resupply trips to the International Space Station, SpaceX certainly seems capable of dreaming up a low-cost method of visiting Mars. The principle behind all of its vehicles is total re-usability; every single system must be able to be serviced and pressed back into operation. This is to cut down on the already astronomical cost of space flight (pun intended), making it more affordable for private companies to conduct missions into the heavens. The company’s main goal is to eliminate the equipment cost for space travel, leaving fuel as the only financial burden.

The same theory applies to Musk’s current claim about Mars, with one interesting exception: He says that he’s come up with a way to refuel the spacecraft while on the surface of the fourth rock from the Sun. This would eliminate the need for the space vehicle to carry the fuel for the return trip home, making it lighter and therefore cheaper to launch it into space. Musk hasn’t elaborated on how he proposes to create a fuel source from the surface of Mars, but he plans on revealing more later this year. Of course, there are many skeptical experts out there that have pointed out the fact that SpaceX has only attempted a rocket launch seven times. Of those seven, three were total failures. Also, the company has yet to make a trip to the ISS, a fact that honestly isn’t its fault since NASA is the one who keeps pushing the launch date back, not SpaceX. I have to admit that there is a certain about of doubt in my mind as well. Space travel is a difficult undertaking, with many unknowns that can pop up. Still, I am intrigued to see if Musk can back up his claim.

There are several hurdles to sending a manned mission to Mars, not the least of which being the fuel production once it lands. Any human that makes the trip will be stuck inside the vehicle for the 214 days it would take to actually travel to the Red Planet. If Musk’s plan is to send a would-be astronaut in a modified version of the Dragon capsule, anyone who gets claustrophobia would be out of the running since it’s a pretty small spacecraft. Nevermind the boredom and medical issues that could arise.

Nevertheless, SpaceX seems to be on the right track when it comes to space travel. With NASA’s planned trip to Mars most likely not happening until 2030, and with billions of dollars of one-use parts, it seems that private companies like Musk’s have a much better chance of making the dream of walking on Mars a reality. Cross your fingers with me that the starry-eyed CEO’s claim actually has some merit to it, and then donate funds to the Kickstarter project I am going to fund immediately after that!

Read more at the BBC.