Science

Mars: Tim Peake thinks it will only take us 50 years to live on Mars – 'I'm quite sure'


A manned mission to Mars was long solely the domain of science fiction, but plans to put humans on the Red Planet’s surface really are beginning to materialise. However, Tim Peak, the UK astronaut who visited the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015, believes US space agency NASA’s 2030 timetable for Mars is too ambitious. Major Peake, 47, said: “In the next 50 years we will be celebrating humans on Mars. I am quite sure of that.

“I would be cautious about saying we will be celebrating humans on Mars in the next 20 years.

“We need to have conversations about space – who owns it, who regulates it, how are we going to control the missions of the future.

“Commercial companies are going to have a huge part to play in how we do that mission and when we do that mission.”

Speaking at the UK Space Conference in Newport, Major Peake said he thought it was unlikely alien life would be found on the red planet, but if even a single cell was discovered it would be “hugely significant”.

READ MORE: NASA thinks THIS surprising planet may have once hosted life

He added signs of alien life would be a “game-changer”, raising questions about the implications for other solar systems.

Major Peake also outlined the challenges facing the space industry in terms of responsibly travelling to space.

The European Space Agency astronaut explained: “Space debris has been out of control, it is now becoming under control in terms of regulation, in terms of trying to get satellite launch companies to comply with the ability to either de-orbit their satellite at the end of life, or to remove them from being a risk of space debris.

“But we can always do more – we have to clean up the problems of the past. But we are now aware of the problem.”

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He outlined the necessity of cleaning outer space before a “catastrophic impact” takes out incredibly valuable space assets like telecommunications, the International Space Station and weather systems.

A European Space Agency’s satellite was only earlier this month on a collision course with the Elon Musk-owned SpaceX Starlink constellation.

This caused a satellite to performing the first-ever “collision avoidance manoeuvre”.

Major Peake said: “As space becomes more valuable to us, economically, people are waking up to the threat.”

Issues like space regulation and the management of Artificial Intelligence (AI) also need to be considered.

READ MORE: Hubble creates cosmic ‘history book of galaxies’

Mayor Peake added: “It is about having the right conversations at the right time.

“We need to be having conversations right now about artificial intelligence – how is that going to be controlled, how is that going to be managed?

“We need to have conversations about space – who owns it, who regulates it, how are we going to control the missions of the future.

“There are some really important challenges to make sure that we do things in a responsible, sustained manner.”



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