Speaking at the 2016 Startmeup Hong Kong Venture Forum this week, SpaceX’s Elon Musk (aka the real-life Tony Stark) shared the details on a number of his ongoing ideas and projects, including when he’d like to travel to the International Space Station. After serving up an answer of “maybe four or five years from now,” Musk’s interviewer was rightfully caught off guard, however, it was what he shared next about SpaceX’s mission to Mars that really put the jaws of those in attendance on the floor. According to Musk, the Hawthorne, California-based aerospace company plans on sending astronauts to the red planet in just nine years.You read that correctly; nine years.While his answer certainly stunned the attending crowd, Musk himself was far less concerned with the relatively small window, saying, “well, nine years, seems like a long time to me.” Though his nonchalance aroused a laugh, a video of the event published to YouTube shows just how serious Musk is in his assessment. Moreover, the SpaceX CEO elaborated on why Mars is so important to humankind, saying the decision to travel to Mars comes down to one fundamental question: what kind of future is more desirable?“Do we want a future where we are…