Elon Musk tweets that SpaceX will start program to pull carbon dioxide in atmosphere and use it as rocket fuel

• Elon Musk tweeted that SpaceX will be launching a new program.

• The program will remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it as rocket fuel.

• The billionaire encouraged people to join and says that it "will also be important for Mars."

Elon Musk tweeted Monday that SpaceX is starting a program to remove carbon dioxide from the Earth's atmosphere and use it as rocket fuel. "Please join if interested," Musk added.

He also tweeted that this program "will also be important for Mars."

The billionaire founder of SpaceX and electric car company Tesla was announced as TIME's 2021 person of the year on Monday.

The Guardian reports that SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket uses kerosene as fuel — which emits carbon dioxide, among other chemicals, into the atmosphere.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Musk previously announced XPrize Carbon Removal, which has a prize of $100 million for carbon removal technology. Carbon dioxide, released by the combustion of fossil fuels, is the primary greenhouse gas contributing to the climate crisis.

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