'First send Elon Musk's mother to Mars if you want me to...': Neil deGrasse Tyson's jab at SpaceX CEO
Elon Musk's travel to Mars will be deemed safe after tech mogul's mother visits the red planet. Neil deGrasse Tyson doesn't think very highly of tech billionaire Elon Musk's desperate desire to send humans to Mars and the two have been at loggerheads over the topic for long.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Neil deGrasse Tyson cracked the joke while speaking about the future of space tourism and if he was interested. «I joke about this — if you want me to get on an Elon rocket, I'll say first have him send his mother to Mars and back. Then I will go and know it's safe,» he told NDTV when asked about space exploration.
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Neil deGrasse Tyson praises Musk
During the interview, he also praised the Tesla and SpaceX CEO for his achievements. He explained how the world's richest man had gone the extra mile than the other «billionaire boys», Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, who had raised hopes of space tourism with their half-hour ride above the atmosphere, the report said. However, he emphasized that private companies like SpaceX must prioritize making missions more cost-effective and efficient, streamlining processes traditionally handled by government agencies.
When asked if space exploration could be a practical alternative for vacations, he stated that the cost would need to be significantly reduced for space travel to become a viable vacation option.
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«You have to bring down the price of space exploration very low. Bring it within the budget of someone who might have spent that money on a vacation. If you take two-three vacations a year, add that all up. I bet people would pool all that