In a recent interview, Space X founder Elon Musk expressed concern that World War III could erupt at any moment and thwart plans for humans to go to Mars.
Speaking to GQ, the billionaire entrepreneur said "we need to acknowledge that there's certainly a possibility of a third World War, and if that does occur it could be far worse than anything that's happened before."
Should such an event take place, Musk observed, widespread use of nuclear weapons may result in a social backlash against technology and diffuse any interest in developing the means to go to Mars.
Therefore, he stressed the need to travel there and colonize the planet so that humanity has an escape plan before events on the Earth turn too dire.
"You back up your hard drive.... Maybe we should back up life, too?"
Musk's comments have drawn concern from some pundits who wonder if the colonization of Mars is really just an escape plan for the super rich.
To that end, Newsweek worried that companies like Space X and Blue Origin would "help the richest people in the world go to Mars and start over, leaving the other 99 percent to suffer on a dying, warring planet."
Unfortunately for the wealthy elite, the technology to escape to Mars remains in development, so if World War III does erupt sometime soon, they'll be stuck here with the rest of us.