Written in German by Werner von Braun in 1949, Project Mars was a science fiction novel depicting a Mars expedition (set in the 1960's!) and the eventual establishment a self-sustaining human settlement on Mars. (It's pretty bad, which explains why it's been forgotten and why von Braun kept his day job as a rocket scientist and didn't become a science fiction writer.)
What justifies it going in Scivillage's 'weird' forum? Well, the fact that the leader of von Braun's imaginary Mars colony was called... Elon! It's true!
Von Braun's Mars spaceships look to be the same size and roughly the same design as Elon's Starships.
Here's an English language pdf e-book version:
https://www.wlym.com/archive/oakland/doc...roject.pdf
Note page 177 where the Martian government is being described:
"The martian government was directed by ten men, the leader of whom was elected by universal suffrage for five years and entitled "Elon". Two houses of Parliament enacted the laws to be administered by the Elon and his cabinet."
I think this is weirder than a loudly slamming fire-cabinet door.
Von Braun's 1949 version:
Elon's 2019 version:
What justifies it going in Scivillage's 'weird' forum? Well, the fact that the leader of von Braun's imaginary Mars colony was called... Elon! It's true!
Von Braun's Mars spaceships look to be the same size and roughly the same design as Elon's Starships.
Here's an English language pdf e-book version:
https://www.wlym.com/archive/oakland/doc...roject.pdf
Note page 177 where the Martian government is being described:
"The martian government was directed by ten men, the leader of whom was elected by universal suffrage for five years and entitled "Elon". Two houses of Parliament enacted the laws to be administered by the Elon and his cabinet."
I think this is weirder than a loudly slamming fire-cabinet door.
Von Braun's 1949 version:
Elon's 2019 version: