Fun Atmosphere

In an interview newly published by Popular Mechanics, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk shared his thoughts on colonizing Mars — from how the first settlers will grow food to the friendly vibe he envisions at the first base on the Red Planet.

“For having an outdoorsy, fun atmosphere, you’d probably want to have some faceted glass dome, with a park, so you can walk around without a suit,” Musk told the magazine. “Eventually if you terraform the planet, then you can walk around without a suit. But for say, the next 100-plus years, you’ll have to have a giant pressurized glass dome.”

Terraform Terrafunction

When PopMech editor-in-chief Ryan D’Agostino pressed Musk on the feasibility of terraforming the entire Red Planet, the enigmatic CEO dismissed the concerns. (Musk, you may recall, famously suggested converting Mars to a more Earth–like climate by dropping atomic bombs on its poles.)

“Of course you can terraform Mars,” Musk told D’Agostino. “Why would they think you can’t? You totally can.”

Mars Farmers

On the subject of how the first Martian colonists will produce food, Musk went into more detail, describing an elaborate hydroponics system that the settlers could use to grow nutritious vegetables.

“I mean, the easy way to do the food would be just to do hydroponics,” he told PopMech. “You essentially have solar power — unfoiled solar panels on the ground, feed that to underground hydroponics, either underground or shielded by wires, dirt.”

READ MORE: Elon Musk: The Popular Mechanics Interview [Popular Mechanics]

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