
Throughout history, empires have been established by conquering land, sea and air. It is no longer enough. From the logic of superpowers and their magnates, the future will belong to whoever dominates outer space.
This was clearly stated by Donald Trump in his inauguration speech in front of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial: “We will go to the Moon again, and we will plant the American flag on Mars soon,” he said. In this commitment to the future, the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, stands out. CEO of the car manufacturer Tesla, founder of the aerospace company SpaceX, which, according to him, aims to take humanity to Mars and ensure the survival of the species.
He also controls the social network X, the artificial intelligence firm xAI and the tunneling company Boring Co. His fortune is estimated at more than 421 billion dollars, according to the Forbes list of multimillionaires. Born in Pretoria in 1971, he emigrated from South Africa at the age of 17 to avoid military service. His vision of life is marked by both marketing and science fiction. The first film he saw, which influenced his dream of interstellar travel, was ‘’Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope’’.
As a young man, he read ‘’The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’’ by Douglas Adams. The novel taught him – according to him – that: “if you can formulate the question correctly, then the answer is the easy part” (https://shorturl.at/2jPGF). On January 9th, immersing himself in the German electoral process, Musk interviewed Alice Weidel, candidate for chancellor of the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), on X. There, faithful to his aerospace fantasies, the techno-billionaire (eight of the ten richest people in the world are technology magnates), in addition to stating that this nation is “on the verge of economic and cultural collapse,” reaffirmed his conviction that humanity is doomed and that to save it, it is necessary to colonize Mars.
Just on Sunday, he pointed out on X: “Mars is the New World,” on a message that announced: “The Starship will take life beyond Earth. The first rocket ever designed to go to Mars.” Musk’s passion for conquering space and for the disasters that threaten to end the world and the human species go hand in hand with his business alliance with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
SpaceX has contracts with the United States government for more than 15 billion dollars. NASA subrogates part of its rocket program to it. The agency chose it to shoot down the International Space Station at the end of its useful life, early next decade. The Pentagon uses its satellite services, key to its military operations on the planet. The support of the richest man in the world for Trump’s candidacy in the last US presidential election was a key piece in the contest.
The techno-millionaire donated more than 200 million dollars to the Republican’s campaign and put the social network X at his service. During his electoral victory speech, Trump did not skimp on praise for his powerful ally. “We have a new star. A star is born: Elon. He’s an incredible guy. We spent the night together. We campaigned together,” he said, calling him “super genius.” The president was full of praise for the billionaire.
Describing the SpaceX rocket launch, he said: “Elon, was that you? Yes, it was me, he said. Who else can do it? Russia? China? The United States? No one else. That’s why I love you.” As a reward, the president asked him to direct, along with Vivek Ramaswamy, former Republican presidential candidate, the Department of Government Efficiency. “Together,” Trump announced, “these two wonderful Americans will pave the way for my administration to dismantle bureaucracy, reduce excessive regulations, reduce unnecessary expenses and restructure federal agencies.”
Even without assuming his new position, Musk used his closeness to the president to do business. Everything seems to indicate that the Italian government of the far-right Giorgia Meloni is about to agree, for 1.5 billion euros over five years, to join the Starlink satellite system. The contract would have been the result of the meeting that the Italian prime minister had with the tycoon, at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s residence in Florida.
If it materializes, SpaceX would provide encryption services for the Italian government and communications infrastructure for military and emergency services. And although the Italian government denied the agreement a day after the meeting, everything indicates that things are moving in the direction of signing it. In addition, the richest man in the world has intervened directly in European political affairs. His personal attacks against Keir Starmer, British Labour Prime Minister, have been devastating.
He was present at a telephone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. Musk’s interference in Europe reached a point where French President Emmanuel Macron had to stand up: “Ten years ago, if we had been told that the owner of one of the largest social networks in the world would support a new international reaction and directly intervene in elections, including in Germany, who would have imagined it?”
The new American expansionism not only seeks to buy Greenland, make Canada its 51st state, take over the Panama Canal, massively expel migrants or unleash a tariff war, but to colonize outer space. Musk’s space odyssey and conquest of Mars is part of the new imperial crusade for the private appropriation of outer space.
Original article by Luis Hernández Navarro, La Jornada, January 21st, 2025.
Translated by Schools for Chiapas.