Elon Musk says that SpaceX can send five uncrewed Starships to Mars within the next two years.

"If those all land safely, then crewed missions are possible in four years. If we encounter challenges, then the crewed missions will be postponed another two years" (Musk).

In June, a Starship rocket survived a fiery, hypersonic return from space and achieved a breakthrough landing demonstration in the Indian Ocean, completing a full test mission around the globe on the rocket's fourth try. 

Musk is counting on Starship to fulfill his goal of producing a large, multipurpose next-generation spacecraft capable of sending people and cargo to the moon later this decade, and ultimately flying to Mars.

NASA earlier this year delayed Artemis 3 mission and its first crewed moon landing in half a century using SpaceX's Starship, to September 2026. It was previously planned for late 2025, NASA said.

"Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa in June canceled a private mission around the moon he had paid for, which was to have used SpaceX's Starship, citing schedule uncertainties in the rocket's development."

Musk's Vision:

Fox News reached out to Musk for further information:

Musk's vision also includes making sure humanity becomes sustainably multiplanetary before a catastrophic event, such as nuclear war or a super virus, on Earth prevents that from happening.

"Elon Musk predicts crewed SpaceX flights to Mars by 2028, and hopes for a 'self-sustaining city' on the planet."

Musk predicted this month that his company will conduct the first crewed flights to Mars in four years, adding that the idea of establishing a sustainable human settlement on the Red Planet within 20 years was not out of reach.

Problems:

According to Elon Musk:

"One of [his] biggest concerns right now is that the Starship program is being smothered by a mountain of government bureaucracy that grows every year," Musk wrote on X. "This stifling red tape is affecting all large projects in America, which is why, for example, California has spent $7 billion dollars and several years on high-speed rail, but only has a 1600 ft section of concrete to show for it!"

"This would destroy the Mars program and doom humanity," Musk wrote. "It cannot happen."

Citations:

Reuters. “SpaceX plans to send five uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years, Musk says.” Reuters, 22 September 2024, https://www.reuters.com/science/musk-says-spacex-plans-launch-about-five-uncrewed-starships-mars-two-years-2024-09-22/. Accessed 22 September 2024.

Wehner, Greg. “Musk says SpaceX could send 5 uncrewed Starships to Mars in 2 years.” Fox Business, 22 September 2024, https://www.foxbusiness.com/fox-news-air-space/musk-spacex-send-5-uncrewed-starships-mars-2-years. Accessed 22 September 2024.