[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8YAONFHIe0&w=853&h=505]

Hello Everyone, Space Mike here. I thought I would share what we know about the secretive SpaceX Mars Workshop that was held in Boulder, Colorado last week.

Scientists, engineers, and officials from space agencies around the world gathered to discuss the technologies needed to get to Mars, and what technologies to bring to Mars. The goal seems to be what it would take to realize Mars colonization, but many of the attending parties are interested in pure science.

Mars Sample Return missions are high on the priority list of NASA, JAXA, ESA, and universities the world over. In-Situ Resource Utilization is the pipe dream of engineers and is ever increasingly becoming a reality. The holy grail though is colonization and hopefully maybe someday terraforming.

If we really plan on sending humans to Mars the first then that needs to happen is The First Mission. The first Expedition. The Flags and Footprints on the Ground. The first Selfie. NASA has been studying how to do that for decades, and over the past decade has done some serious design work with their contractors to figure out the best way to execute that first human mission to the surface of Mars. The plan is good, the technology exists, the will is there, what’s missing is the ride. As NASA works on the ride they do not want (the Space Launch System) SpaceX is furiously building and testing their Big Falcon Rocket which will either send a Big Falcon Spaceship to Mars, or save the day and send all that First Mission Mars Stuff to the surface of Mars before their own hardware.

Time will tell what will happen, but what we can get excited about is the ramping up of activity, and the opportunity for all the interested serious parties to collaborate on the greatest exploration and survival mission humanity has ever undertaken.

That’s it from me, I can’t wait to see and hear what Tim Dodd has been experiencing at SpaceX Headquarters meeting the astronauts who will fly the first Crew Dragons. If you would like to see more of my videos you can head over to EpicFutureSpace and You can help financially support the Everyday Astronaut crew by becoming a Patron to ensure we have the resources necessary to bring you the best access to this new space race!