Elon Musk's latest

With all the things going on on Earth, attention to the stars has been subdued.

Elon Musk is trying to change that.

At his launch site in Texas, he held a press conference to introduce his new SpaceX Starship, a prototype of a soon-to-be full scale version.

This design is intended to fly passengers to the moon and beyond, then return them safely to earth.

Musk, of course, is hyping his machines and their possible contribution to the future. Musk reportedly called it “the most inspiring thing that I’ve ever seen.”

The real key to extended and expanded space travel is reducing costs. The long retired space shuttles were a start in this direction. Musk is proposing using direct launch rockets instead of shuttles. His rockets, he says, will land and be reusable. Phenomenally, these rockets will land upright upon the completion of their missions. He has already accomplished this feat with other rockets. It was an incredible sight.

As usual Musk is not wasting time. He predicts that within six months Starship will orbit the earth.

Then, if all goes well, Musk sees Starship taking passengers into space by next year.

Ultimately, he sees a permanent colony on Mars.

His enthusiasm is a break from the life-on-earth problems and negativism. “We need things that make us excited to be alive and fired up about the future,” he said. “Becoming a space-faring civilization, being out there among the stars, is one of the things that makes me glad to be alive,” Musk said.

NASA has a contract with SpaceX to provide reliable transport for crews and supplies to the International Space Station. This program is reportedly years behind schedule. Supposedly, SpaceX is not showing the same enthusiasm for this project.

Still, Musk is a visionary. We are sadly lacking people who look to the future in a positive way. He is focused on space. We could use his attitude and commitment to solve problems on Earth. Maybe his dedication and ambition will rub off on others and give them the impetus to tackle equally daunting problems here.

Then, his dreamed-up colony on Mars could be an inspiration rather than a last ditch escape to save mankind.