What the UAE showed in its VR experience was exactly how that would look and how that might work.
Al Gergawi said it would take collaboration between governments to create co-existence on Mars and that the United Nations (UN) would need to be involved. Countries would co-sign a yearly treaty to be a part of the Mars civilization. But many details would need to be ironed out such as what kind of economic society would exist on Mars.
“On Earth, we are based largely on a capitalist system. For sure we will have capitalist elements. But we would have to create something unique that would fit the needs and environment on Mars,” Al Gergawi told CNBC.
During the experience, my space pod passed structures that were supposed to have been first set up way before 2117, to study energy harvesting and deep space communication. The NASA Opportunity Rover was also on display as a reminder of the early Mars exploration missions.
The UAE currently has plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to Mars by 2021 called Hope. It is developing its own space travel vehicle for now, rather than working with private companies such as SpaceX.
Tesla and SpaceX board member Steve Jurvetson told CNBC in a recent interview that a round trip to Mars could come down to cost around $200,000. Al Gergawi said that this figure is about right for the first fifty years, but it could come down significantly after that.
“If you are selling something revolutionary, not everyone will be able to afford it at first. The same went for aeroplanes,” Al Gergawi.
“But if everything goes as planned around $200,000 is not an unreasonable number. But when you look at 100 years from now, it could probably be much lower by a factor of 10.”
