Elon Musk is worried World War III will ruin his Mars mission

Elon Musk is constantly thinking about the 'big' picture. And it looks pretty scary.

Founder of PayPal, CEO of electric car manufacturer Tesla and space group SpaceX, inventor of what could be the fastest form of transport known to man, Hyperloop, the real-life Tony Stark recently shared his thoughts on the future with GQ - which is like asking George R R Martin for a 'brief' description of on what's still to happen in Game of Thrones.

Musk is determined to put a colony on Mars - to establish a secondary population for mankind before we lose interest in the pursuit, or simply give up on the technology that could get us there. But an even more pressing concern for the entrepreneur is the very real prospect of a third world war. 

It could be far worse than anything that's happened before

"There's a window that could be opened for a long time or a short time where we have an opportunity to establish a self-sustaining base on Mars," explains Musk, "before something happens to drive the technology level on Earth below where it's possible. So does the base become self-sustaining before spaceships from Earth stop going?

"I mean, I don't think we can discount the possibility of a third World War. You know, in 1912 they were proclaiming a new age of peace and prosperity, saying that it was a golden age, war was over. And then you had World War I followed by World War II followed by the Cold War. So I think we need to acknowledge that there's certainly a possibility of a third World War, and if that does occur it could be far worse than anything that's happened before. Let's say nuclear weapons are used. I mean, there could be a very powerful social movement that's anti-technology."

NASA currently hopes to have humans on Mars by the "2030s" - let's hope the world's leaders keep their fingers off the button long enough for humanity to have a second hope elsewhere in the galaxy. And that we managed to book a seat.

(Image: Rex)

[Via: GQ]