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Elon Musk might name his first Mars-bound spaceship after Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Elon Musk might name his first Mars-bound spaceship after Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

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'The acronym is not the best'

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Today, Elon Musk revealed his ambitious multi-decade roadmap for human colonization of Mars, including the Interplanetary Transport System he believes will get us there. But while the event was full of technical detail on the new rocket and ship, it appears the crafts have yet to be named.

"We're thinking about names," Musk told the crowd. "The first ship that goes to Mars, my current favorite for it is Heart of Gold from The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy."

The Heart of Gold is one of the ships at the center of Douglas Adams' 1978 radio play and subsequent book, stolen by Zaphod Beeblebrox at the ship's official launch and later used to rescue the story's protagonists. It's also the first ship to use the Inifinite Improbability Drive, a detail that was particularly appealing to Musk. "I like the fact that it's driven by infinite improbability," Musk said, referring to the because I think our ship is also extremely improbable."

"The acronym is not the best," Musk conceded.


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