Skip to main content
Space Exploration

You are not logged in. Your edit will be placed in a queue until it is peer reviewed.

We welcome edits that make the post easier to understand and more valuable for readers. Because community members review edits, please try to make the post substantially better than how you found it, for example, by fixing grammar or adding additional resources and hyperlinks.

5
  • 4
    $\begingroup$ Remember you need not only to carry those people, but also food, medical supplies, WATER, and a lot of other stuff for the 6 years that mission is going to take. $\endgroup$
    – jwenting
    Commented Aug 19, 2021 at 10:31
  • $\begingroup$ @jwenting um, IIRC the context Elon used suggested those were accounted for. $\endgroup$
    – Abdullah is not an Amalekite
    Commented Aug 19, 2021 at 11:02
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ They are only accounted for because of Starship's size. There's no way even one person would fit alongside with all the required supplies inside Dragon. It might be possible to get away with a rocket somewhat smaller than Starship if the crew was cut down to 4 or so (not smaller by a half though - air scrubbing, water purification system, moisture reclamation, spare parts etc for 4 people won't be much smaller than for 10.) And the workload to establish a sustainable base on Mars would be way too much for 4. $\endgroup$
    – SF.
    Commented Aug 19, 2021 at 13:30
  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Starship is so big because they scaled it DOWN a couple of times. Compared to previous proposals for interplanetary manned flights, the Starship is miniscule! $\endgroup$
    – CuteKItty_pleaseStopBArking
    Commented Aug 20, 2021 at 14:43
  • $\begingroup$ Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. $\endgroup$
    – called2voyage ♦
    Commented Aug 22, 2021 at 1:29