--- title: "Neil deGrasse Tyson Has Some Serious Beef With Elon Musk’s Mars Plans" description: "Elon Musk's Mars dreams may have to temper with a harsh reality put forth by equally-frustrating nerd Neil DeGrasse Tyson. " date: "2022-07-11" modified: "2022-07-11" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-neil-degrasse-tyson-mars" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Mars" - "Space" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "life on mars" - "mars" - "neil degrasse tyson" - "terraforming" - "the digest" --- # Neil deGrasse Tyson Has Some Serious Beef With Elon Musk’s Mars Plans ![Elon Musk's Mars dreams may have to temper with a harsh reality put forth by equally-frustrating nerd Neil DeGrasse Tyson. ]() *\Image: Getty Images/Futurism\* ## Well-Red Elon Musk's Martian dreams may have to contend with a harsh reality put forth by the famously dream-crushing astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson. After [Musk tweeted]() that "humanity will reach Mars in your lifetime" and [waxed prolific on his pipe dream]() during a Saturday speech, [Tyson took to *CNN*]() to set the record straight about the logistics of life on Mars. "We are already on Mars with rovers," the Museum of Natural History astronomer told the news network. "Many generations of rover." It's that robotic presence that provided Earthlings with the knowledge of Mars' harsh, arid, and frigid climate — an environment that would be, [as Tyson has pointed out in the past](), really unpleasant to live with. "Antarctica is balmier and wetter than any place on Mars," he quipped, "and nobody is lining up to build condos in Antarctica." ## Earth to Elon If the SpaceX and Tesla CEO is seriously proposing a Mars terraforming project — which, it should be noted, would [cost an unimaginable sum of billions or trillions of dollars]() once that technology actually exists — then Tyson said he's "all in." But for the time being, he has a point that humans are still "victims of our own nature" on Earth, considering the way natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes continually devastate us. Terraforming, Tyson continued, is "to control the forces of your planet in a way so that they do what you want them to do, and we're not really there yet." "I'm all for the ambition of wanting to colonize Mars," he concluded, "I just think it's not as close in time as people are imagining." He may be [an alleged abuser]() and [an insufferable know-it-all](), but in certain cases such as this one, you really do have to hand it to him. **READ MORE:** [Neil deGrasse Tyson reacts to Elon Musk's tweet about colonizing Mars]() \[*CNN*\] **More on Mars:** [*Mars Rock Samples Probably Won't Infect Earth With Deadly Martian Plague, Scientist Says*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()