Humanity, according to Elon Musk, is running out of time. The billionaire insists that the only way to safeguard our species is to colonize Mars—and he’s not shy about setting deadlines. Musk’s company, SpaceX, plans to send its first Starships to the Red Planet before the decade’s end, followed by crewed missions by 2031.
Why the rush? As Musk told Fox News last week, it’s all about providing “a kind of collective life insurance” for humanity.
Malgré ce qu’Elon Musk répète à toute personne susceptible de financer ses autres business, nous ne foulerons pas le sol de Mars d’ici seulement quelques années.
Les énormes contraintes techniques, logistiques (& financières) ne s’évanouissent pas juste parce qu’on le veut.
1/3 pic.twitter.com/mQnVY9DMkS
— Astropierre (@astropierre) March 21, 2025
“Life will be destroyed by the Sun”
Musk’s reasoning draws on our deepest fears. “Eventually, all life on Earth will be destroyed by the Sun. Our planet will end up reduced to ashes,” he warned. “To avoid that fate, we need to become a multiplanetary species—starting with self-sufficient cities on Mars. The journey will be long, so we have to begin now.”
But what exactly does he mean? This time, Musk isn’t talking about nuclear war, or even about human-driven climate change. Nor is it the threat of an asteroid collision. What he’s referring to is something astronomers have long agreed on—the inevitable death of the Sun.
As our star ages, scientists say, it will burn hotter and brighter, heating Earth to the point where our atmosphere becomes toxic. Eventually, the Sun may expand into a red giant and possibly swallow the planet altogether, though researchers debate the details. For a brief cosmic moment, Mars could become more temperate—perhaps even comfortable.
Earth to Elon: If we’re incinerated, so is Mars. I’m all for exploring Mars, but this isn’t the rationale for it. https://t.co/fwmbwPR4lV
— Captain Mark Kelly (@CaptMarkKelly) May 7, 2025
Distracting us from immediate dangers
But that window wouldn’t last long. In the far future—hundreds of millions, perhaps billions, of years from now—Mars itself could be destroyed or rendered uninhabitable.
Meanwhile, here on Earth, our own planet is already under threat. Massive greenhouse gas emissions are driving a man-made extinction, reshaping ecosystems faster than they can recover. Most scientists agree that preserving Earth’s habitability now is our real insurance policy for the future.
If humanity can keep its home world thriving, it will be better prepared to face the Sun’s eventual transformation—when, billions of years from now, our star finally burns out. Until then, Musk’s dream of Mars may inspire, but saving Earth remains the only mission with real urgency.
Nathalie Mayer
Journalist
Born in Lorraine on a freezing winter night, storytelling has always inspired me, first through my grandmother’s tales and later Stephen King’s imagination. A physicist turned science communicator, I’ve collaborated with institutions like CEA, Total, Engie, and Futura. Today, I focus on unraveling Earth’s complex environmental and energy challenges, blending science with storytelling to illuminate solutions.