Elon Musk is one of the most influential speakers in the world today. And one of the most unpredictable – we cannot predict how Ilona's word will respond. Sometimes his words are a signal about such global things as the beginning of the colonization of Mars or the connection of the brain and the computer. And sometimes his jokes bring down the bitcoin price or cause the stock price of his own company Tesla to fall. Therefore, the audience, who watched Elon Musk's live broadcast during the educational Marathon “New Knowledge”, waited with interest for the performance of the romantic of new technologies and the consequences of this performance.
Communication with Russian schoolchildren and students took place in a dialogue mode. The audience immediately took the bull by the horns and, implying that the colonization of Mars was a stage already passed, became interested in Elon's plans for travel outside the solar system. It turned out that such thoughts wander in Elon's head:
– Of course, humanity needs to think about travel outside the solar system. The question is how to do it? Because with the current development of technology, this is not possible. Of course, this requires new physics. To get to other solar systems, it is necessary to develop rockets based on new physical principles. Perhaps the most efficient way is to harness the energy of antimatter. If, as a result of these experiments, we can reach 10-20 percent of the speed of light, then we have a chance to escape from our planetary system, because the nearest star is located at a distance of only 4 light years. We are thinking about an interstellar travel program, but first science must meet the challenges involved.
– Ilon, you said that your idol is Sergei Korolev. How are your rockets different from his rockets?
– When we at SpaceX began to design our rocket, we focused on the problem of reusable degrees and parts of rocket technology. It is tragic for the creators of the technique that it is used only once, and then the steps are broken. It's like making a disposable plane. And we made a partially reusable spaceship (most of the ship's parts are reused). The next fundamental breakthrough is the creation of a large rocket for interplanetary travel. For this, the rockets must be, first of all, completely reusable. Secondly, self-governing. And, thirdly, have the ability to refuel in space or anywhere else. These are the three things that should differentiate modern missiles from the previous generation.
– Did you face the question of the relationship between faith and knowledge? Do you believe in God.
– I would say that in the traditional sense of the word I am not religious, since I belong to the scientific school of thought. But I'm very curious where did life come from and how did we get here? It is necessary to expand the volume of consciousness in order to receive the correct answers from the Universe.
– And how to do this when we see a crisis in the education system? The knowledge that is given at school is rapidly becoming outdated, how and what should be learned now?
– It seems to me that the main thing in education now is that those who teach us can competently explain why we need this knowledge that they pass on to us. The human brain is designed in such a way that it constantly evaluates the importance of the information it receives. If the brain understands that what we are learning is not relevant, then we instantly forget about it. This is how the laws of brain physiology work. Therefore, the teacher should first of all explain why you need this tool. And the explanation “because everyone does it” doesn't work. But I don't see a crisis in education. On the contrary, it became more interesting to study. Previously, in order to gain some knowledge, one had to go to university. Now a huge number of wonderful courses for all occasions have appeared on the Internet. Today there are no restrictions for gaining knowledge. Everything you need can be obtained from the Internet.
– If you had a time machine, what advice would you give yourself from the future?
– Oh, that's the question! I think that in order to make a fantastic future a reality, one has to read and think broadly. When narrow specialists become isolated in their industry, they do not see what is beyond the horizon. It is important to be interested in both science fiction and the history of the past, read both non-fiction books and fiction. Why is that? Because it is important to know different areas and transfer ideas from one to another, combine between disciplines. This is the only way new knowledge and fantastic ideas appear. Including a time machine.
– Elon, what do you think about the future of the ISS: should the station continue to be international or should each country make its own – national?
– I think that the International Space Station has a very important function – it is cooperation between different states. And don't get hung up on the ISS. I believe it is time to go beyond this issue and discuss the creation of international bases on the Moon, the construction of cities on Mars. Tsiolkovsky, the father of our astronautics, had a wonderful phrase: “The Earth is the cradle of mankind, but we cannot stay in the cradle all the time.”
– What will a city on Mars look like?
– I think we can settle down there. At first, these will be colonies under glass, where an artificial atmosphere and pressure will be created inside, but over time we can make the living conditions on the planet close to those on Earth.
The speeches of the speakers of the New Knowledge Marathon can be viewed here.
