Musk discloses schedule for crewed Mars voyage
Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX plans to launch the first unmanned Starships to Mars in two years. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
The founder of SpaceX has previously expressed a desire to transport one million people to Mars, asserting that he is developing a “game plan” to make this vision a reality.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, announced that the company is set to launch its first crewed missions to Mars within four years, contingent on the success of upcoming unmanned landings. The initial uncrewed Starships destined for the Red Planet are anticipated to take off in two years, coinciding with the next Earth-Mars transfer window, which Musk shared via social media on Saturday.
Musk clarified, “These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars.” He conveyed optimism that successful landings would pave the way for crewed flights to Mars in four years.
The notion of establishing a sustainable human settlement on Mars in the next two decades is feasible, according to Musk’s commitments. He remarked, “Flight rate will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years.” He emphasized that achieving a multi-planetary existence will “vastly increase the probable lifespan of consciousness.” Musk elaborated, “We will no longer have all our eggs, literally and metabolically, on one planet.”
In a separate update, Musk noted that SpaceX has developed the first fully reusable rocket stage, which significantly enhances the economic viability of the launch process.
Musk identified the challenge of making life multi-planetary as “fundamentally a cost per ton to Mars problem.” He stated, “It currently costs about a billion dollars per ton of useful payload to the surface of Mars. That needs to be improved to $100k/ton to build a self-sustaining city there, so the technology needs to be 10,000 times better. Extremely difficult, but not impossible,” he concluded.
In June, a Starship rocket successfully completed a mission returning from space, landing in the Indian Ocean during its fourth test flight.
Musk is relying on Starship, the largest rocket ever constructed, to fulfill his ambition of developing a spacecraft capable of transporting humans and cargo to the Moon later this decade and ultimately to Mars.
The Starship spacecraft is designed to accommodate “both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond,” as noted on SpaceX’s website.
Mars is described as one of Earth’s “closest habitable neighbors,” featuring “decent sunlight.” The site acknowledges that while “it is a little cold, we can warm it up.” Additionally, Mars's gravity is about 38% that of Earth, allowing for easier lifting of heavy objects and movement. “Furthermore, the day is remarkably close to that of Earth,” SpaceX mentions.
In February, Musk reiterated his ambition to send one million people to Mars, highlighting his ongoing efforts to create a “game plan” for this initiative. He stated, “Humanity should have a moon base, cities on Mars, and be out there among the stars.”
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, announced that the company is set to launch its first crewed missions to Mars within four years, contingent on the success of upcoming unmanned landings. The initial uncrewed Starships destined for the Red Planet are anticipated to take off in two years, coinciding with the next Earth-Mars transfer window, which Musk shared via social media on Saturday.
Musk clarified, “These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars.” He conveyed optimism that successful landings would pave the way for crewed flights to Mars in four years.
The notion of establishing a sustainable human settlement on Mars in the next two decades is feasible, according to Musk’s commitments. He remarked, “Flight rate will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years.” He emphasized that achieving a multi-planetary existence will “vastly increase the probable lifespan of consciousness.” Musk elaborated, “We will no longer have all our eggs, literally and metabolically, on one planet.”
In a separate update, Musk noted that SpaceX has developed the first fully reusable rocket stage, which significantly enhances the economic viability of the launch process.
Musk identified the challenge of making life multi-planetary as “fundamentally a cost per ton to Mars problem.” He stated, “It currently costs about a billion dollars per ton of useful payload to the surface of Mars. That needs to be improved to $100k/ton to build a self-sustaining city there, so the technology needs to be 10,000 times better. Extremely difficult, but not impossible,” he concluded.
In June, a Starship rocket successfully completed a mission returning from space, landing in the Indian Ocean during its fourth test flight.
Musk is relying on Starship, the largest rocket ever constructed, to fulfill his ambition of developing a spacecraft capable of transporting humans and cargo to the Moon later this decade and ultimately to Mars.
The Starship spacecraft is designed to accommodate “both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond,” as noted on SpaceX’s website.
Mars is described as one of Earth’s “closest habitable neighbors,” featuring “decent sunlight.” The site acknowledges that while “it is a little cold, we can warm it up.” Additionally, Mars's gravity is about 38% that of Earth, allowing for easier lifting of heavy objects and movement. “Furthermore, the day is remarkably close to that of Earth,” SpaceX mentions.
In February, Musk reiterated his ambition to send one million people to Mars, highlighting his ongoing efforts to create a “game plan” for this initiative. He stated, “Humanity should have a moon base, cities on Mars, and be out there among the stars.”
Thomas Evans contributed to this report for TROIB News
