Businessman Elon Musk says his company is building a powerful, reusable rocket and a
spaceship
that may travel
to the planet Mars. The spacecraft
would eventually be able to take
as many as 100 people and their equipment to the red planet, he said.
The entrepreneur announced his
plan on Tuesday at the 67th International Astronautical Congress in
Guadalajara, Mexico. Elon Musk is the founder of the American
company SpaceX. It designs, manufacturers and launches rockets and spacecraft.
During his speech in Mexico, Musk did not talk about
the September 1 explosion of SpaceX’s
Falcon 9 rocket and the satellite it was carrying. But
Musk did say he wants to establish a city on Mars. He said the planned city
would be able to support itself -- complete with the ability to make iron, as
well as pizzas. Musk wants human beings to be able to
live on more than just one planet. And he said the best way to do that is to
first colonize Mars. He wants
many people to be able to travel to the red planet. “Really the key is making this affordable to almost
anyone who wants to go...”
* reusable = 재사용할 수
있는/ spaceship = 우주선/ travel to ~ = ~로 여행하다[이동하다]/ eventually = 결국, 종내/
entrepreneur = (특히 모험적인) 사업가[기업가]/ astronautical = 우주 비행의(비행사의)/ founder = 창립자,
설립자/ explosion = 폭발; 폭파/ colonize = (동물이나 식물들이) 대량 서식하다; 식민지로 만들다/ affordable
= (가격이) 알맞은
Reusing rockets and spaceships will
help lower the cost for each
person, he explained. The spaceships would also be able to refuel in orbit. He
suggested the production of methane and oxygen on Mars
would provide fuel for the trip back home. Musk says a
self-supporting colony on
the planet would require about 1 million people. To get them there and to build
the colony, it would take between 40 and 100 years -- or about 10,000
flights
with 100 people per flight. Musk said the trip would
last between 80 and 150 days. Eventually, the cost would go down. “The very first flights will be fairly expensive, but the
architecture allows for a cost per ticket of less than $200,000.” No date has been set for the first flight. But Musk said he wanted
to send the first manned
mission to Mars by 2024. He added that he plans to start
transporting supplies to
the planet as soon as 2018. Musk invited other
companies to join the Mars effort, which reportedly would require
about a $10 billion investment. The American space
agency NASA has its own program for sending astronauts to Mars. NASA will be
using its own equipment. Currently, the space agency does use Space X for taking
supplies to the International Space Station. Musk, a
wealthy entrepreneur, is also known for his Tesla Motors
company, which makes electric cars.
* lower =
낮추다, 내리다/ refuel = 연료를 재급유하다/ in orbit = 궤도로[에 들어서서]/ methane = 메탄/
self-supporting = 자립[자활]이 가능한/ flight = (비행기) 비행, 여행/ fairly = 상당히, 꽤/ manned
mission to Mars = 유인 화성 탐사/ transport = 수송하다/ reportedly = 전하는 바에 따르면, 소문에 의하면/
known for ~ = ~로 알려진
American Businessman Announces Plans for Mars Colony - WTS.mp3