SpaceX Plans Mars Mission in 2026 – Musk
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has announced that the company’s massive Starship rocket is set to launch for Mars at the end of 2026, carrying Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus. According to Musk, if initial missions succeed, human landings could begin as early as 2029, though 2031 is a more likely timeline.
“Starship departs for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Optimus. If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely,” Musk stated on his social platform, X.
The Starship system, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, is central to Musk’s vision of colonizing Mars. Meanwhile, NASA is also relying on a modified version of Starship for its Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon. However, before such deep-space missions can proceed, SpaceX must prove the rocket’s reliability, safety for crewed flights, and its ability to refuel in orbit.
SpaceX recently faced a setback when its latest Starship test flight ended in a mid-air explosion, despite the successful recovery of the booster. It mirrored a previous attempt where the upper stage lost control and communication was abruptly cut.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has mandated an investigation before SpaceX can conduct another test flight.
