--- title: "NASA Astronaut Says Elon Musk’s Mars Colony Sounds “Horrible”" description: "To some, colonizing Mars with billionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk might sound fun. To others, like NASA astronaut Stan Love, it sounds like pure misery." date: "2022-09-06" modified: "2022-09-06" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-astronaut-mars-colony-horrible" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Mars" - "NASA" - "Space" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "mars" - "mars colonization" - "the digest" --- # NASA Astronaut Says Elon Musk’s Mars Colony Sounds “Horrible” ![To some, colonizing Mars with billionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk might sound fun. To others, like NASA astronaut Stan Love, it sounds like pure misery.]() *\Image: SpaceX/NASA/Futurism\* ## Bad Time To some, colonizing Mars with billionaire SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is a lifelong dream. To others, including longtime NASA astronaut Stanley Love, it sounds like pure misery. "Do I think it’s possible? Yes," Love [told the *The US Sun*](). "Do I think it would be enjoyable? No." "I think it would be horrible," he continued. ## Wormy Apples Love told the outlet that his feelings are informed by an experience he had living in Antarctica for several months. According to the astronaut, he and several others were living on the field, with just small tents for housing. "They take away a bunch of garbage and they brought us three ping pong ball-sized wormy little apples from New Zealand," the NASA veteran continued. "There were eight of us and we carefully portioned those Apples so everybody got exactly three-eighths of a ping pong ball-sized wormy little Apple from New Zealand and it was the best Apple you ever ate." Colonizing our neighboring planet, his reasoning goes, would be even harder on the folks who set out to do it, likely beyond anything explorers have previously endured. "It will be a very long time before Mars is able to produce even a wormy little ping pong ball-sized Apple," Love told the *Sun*. "Much less a nectarine. Much less a day on the beach." ## Faint of Heart It's worth noting that Musk himself — who hopes to get "boots" on the Red Planet [in the next decade]() — has said that colonization will be no walk in the park; he's even admitted that some settlers will [probably die]() in the process. Love's comments in mind, reliable food production [isn't the only issue]() that Musk's Mars Ambitions face. Humans have yet to make it to the planet, so it's difficult to really know how possible it even is for humans to survive there, let alone build a society — as of now, this is all purely theoretical. But for what it's worth, Love doesn't think that colonization is impossible. He just doesn't think it'll be fun. "Mars ain't no picnic," Love added. "...I don't think people are going to like it." **READ MORE:** *[Nasa astronaut reveals why he won’t live in Elon Musk’s Mars colony]()* \[*The Sun*\] **More on Mars colonization obstacles:** [*Mars Astronauts Would Get Horrifying Dose of Radiation, Study Finds*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()