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Getting people to Mars has come a long way since Werner von Braun wrote "The Mars Project" (https://www.wlym.com/archive/oakland/docs/MarsProject.pdf) in 1953. Zubrin writes a good case.

Werner von Braun originally wanted to use reusable boosters about the size of Space-X's Falcon, launch huge numbers of them, and build a big space station. See his 1952 book, "The Mars Project". (That was written before we found out that Mars barely has an atmosphere.)

The Mars Project (1952) by Wernher von Braun had a pretty big impact on the public imagination and helped drive the Apollo project [1].

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mars_Project

I am still reeling from having just learned that in Wernher Von Braun's book 'The Mars Project', it is proposed that the leader of the Martian government when it is formed shall be known as the 'Elon'.

https://i.imgur.com/65YR89H.png

I confused things as there are two separate books with very similar titles by Braun, 'Project Mars' (ISBN - 0973820330) and 'The Mars Project' (ISBN - 0252062272). The first is sci-fi and the second is technical.

Here's a pdf of Project Mars - http://www.wlym.com/archive/oakland/docs/MarsProject.pdf

The reference to the Elon is on page 177.

I hadn't initially noticed the fact it was posthumously published in 2006, however it would seem like an odd kind of forgery, if it is one.

Equally it does seem odd that Braun would choose Elon as the name of the Mars leader, so perhaps it might be a real work but with Elon added as a joke by the translator.

Or perhaps Braun chose the word Elon because he sometimes thought of leaders as trees, or something, and it is all just a massive bit of luck.

Personally I'm starting to suspect another explanation however. And if I'm right, there is an entire warehouse full of empty Elon Musk clones on ice, waiting for the spirit of Wernher Von Braun to animate each one in turn, in the event of damage occurring to the current corporeal vessel.