Elon Musk: Spacecraft to Mars in Two Years

“The first spacecraft to Mars will be launched in two years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens.” Elon Musk raises the issue of the space race in a post on the X social network he owns. The eccentric billionaire and owner, among other things, of the aerospace company Space-X, which has created a vehicle, capable of transporting goods to and from the International Space Station (ISS), and partially reusable launch rockets.

Musk is not referring to a manned mission, which is currently very far from achievable, at least in the near future. As for the spaceships that will leave in two years, “they will be unmanned to test the reliability of landing safely on Mars,” Musk explained. “If the landings are successful, the first manned missions to Mars will take place in 4 years.”

Four years actually seems like an unrealistic time frame considering that man has yet to return to the Moon; he hasn’t done so since the last Apollo mission, dating back to 1976. Not for the South African tycoon who has always had ambitions to colonize first the Moon and then Mars.

“From then on, the number of flights will grow exponentially, with the goal of building a self-sufficient city in about 20 years. By being multi-planetary, we will greatly increase the likely lifespan of consciousness, because we will no longer have all of our eggs, literally and metabolically, on one planet.”