Speaking to SpaceX employees in Texas, Musk described the goal of sending humans to Mars as essential “for the long term survival of civilization."

Under his vision, humans would not just step on the planet before departing, but would remain to establish a settlement that could function independently.

Musk also laid out his vision at a time when President Donald Trump has made clear his intentions to align NASA's spaceflight objectives with the goals of SpaceX.

Could humanity be just a few short years away from its first cosmic pioneers stepping foot on Mars ?

If tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has anything to say about it, yes.

Musk, the billionaire founder of SpaceX, has for years dreamed of ushering in a " multiplanetary " era where humans would set out toward the stars to establ

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