The founder and chief designer of SpaceX, Elon Musk has disclosed that a ‘bunch of people will probably die’ on a mission to Mars

The entrepreneur, who is trying to launch a mission to the red planet, made the stark warning during an interview with the chairman of tech charity X Prize Foundation.

The 49-year-old boss of electric car manufacturer Tesla and aerospace company SpaceX wants to help humans explore space and colonise Mars.

He recently gave an interview with Peter Diamandis, the founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation which encourages scientific discovery and technological development.

In that interview the South-African born billionaire cackled as he said ‘honestly, a bunch of people probably will die at the beginning, it’s tough sledding over there, you know.’

He said: “We don’t want to make anyone go, it’s volunteers only.”

He added that the project to leave Earth was seen as ‘some escape hatch for rich people’

He said: “It’s dangerous, it’s uncomfortable, it’s a long journey, you might not come back alive but it’s a glorious adventure and it will be an amazing experience.

He added: “You might die, and you’re probably not going to have good food, and all these things.

“So if an arduous and dangerous journey where you may not come back alive but it’s a glorious adventure sounds appealing Mars is the place, that’s the [advert].”

It comes after a four-astronaut team on board the SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule safely arrived at the International Space Station and is expected to remain at the station for six months.

Last month Musk claimed that his company will touch their ships down on Mars “well before 2030”.

He plans to send one million people to Mars by 2050 and to build a city there.