Picture Credit: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg/Getty
Billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday announced that SpaceX’s Starship and its heavy booster, the most powerful rocket system ever built, will likely begin missions to Mars by 2026, with human landings by 2031.
In a post on social media platform, Musk stated that Starship would first transport Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus, to Mars. If conditions prove favorable, human missions could begin as early as 2029.
Taking to X, Musk posted, “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,” the post further added.
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. https://t.co/JRBB95sgNN
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 15, 2025
The Starship system, which stands 397 feet tall and has a 30-foot-wide core, plays a central role in Musk’s long-term ambition of colonizing Mars.
It consists of the Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage spacecraft, both designed for deep-space missions.
Musk has previously outlined his vision of relocating at least a million people to Mars.
Additionally, he reiterated that self-sufficiency on the Red Planet is essential.
“Civilization only passes the single-planet Great Filter when Mars can survive even if Earth supply ships stop coming,” Musk noted.
He added that, in the future, a trip to Mars could become as routine as a domestic flight.
His plans also include building a permanent Moon base.
“Humanity should have a moon base, cities on Mars, and be out there among the stars,” Musk asserted.
However, SpaceX has encountered setbacks in testing.
Earlier this month, the company lost contact with Starship shortly after launching the eighth test flight.
Approximately seven minutes after liftoff on 7 March, the Super Heavy booster successfully returned to the launch pad, where it was caught by the Starbase launch tower’s ‘Mechazilla’ arms.
Despite this success, the Starship spacecraft lost altitude control and communication was cut off.
SpaceX reported, “Final contact with Starship came approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff.”
A similar issue occurred during the seventh test flight.
Before Starship can launch again, SpaceX will require approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has initiated an investigation into the matter.
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