(NewsNation) — Elon Musk’s proposal to put humans on Mars by the end of the decade is feasible but would take a tremendous amount of money and political will, says theoretical physicist Michio Kaku.

“Just like Christopher Columbus, Elon Musk could go down in history as somebody who opened up a new branch of the human race,” the futurist told “NewsNation Prime” over the weekend.  

Musk, the billionaire owner of SpaceX who has controversially waded into U.S. politics, has said it’s possible to send a crewed mission to Mars by 2029. He said it’s necessary to preserve “consciousness” but skeptics question the wisdom of investing in such a project when resources might be better used to solve problems on Earth.

Kaku, however, calls the idea of colonizing Mars “an insurance policy.”

“If something bad happens to the Earth, it’s good to have a new branch of the human race out there, waiting for us to colonize it,” he said.

An initial round-trip to the Red Planet would take about two years, Kaku said, including up to nine months to get there, a few months for reconnaissance and tests and a period of waiting for optimum conditions to return.

Ultimately, he said, Mars would need to be “terraformed” into a self-sustaining planet, possibly through satellites that would beam energy to melt polar ice caps.

“We know we can do it,” Kaku said. “It’s a question of political will, and it’s a question of whether we can handle all of the potential problems that face us.”

As for him, don’t expect Kaku to be one of the colonists.

“No, I think the glory and all the tributes, all that goes to some young person who sees a whole new world out there,” he said.