SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Sunday announced plans to launch about five unmanned Starship missions to Mars over the next two years, in a post on his social media platform X.
The social media post by Musk, 53, followed earlier statements that the first Starship missions to Mars would begin in two years, “when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens.”
According ReutersThe timeline for the first crewed mission depends on the success of unmanned flights, and Musk said crewed missions could launch within four years if unmanned missions land safely.
However, in case of difficulties, manned missions will be postponed for another two years, Musk said.
Earlier this year, Musk, known for providing shifting timelines on Starship's readiness status, said the first unmanned spacecraft to land on Mars would be within five years, and the first people would land on Mars within seven years.
In June, a Starship rocket survived a fiery hypersonic return from space and achieved a groundbreaking landing demonstration in the Indian Ocean, completing a full, around-the-world test mission on the rocket’s fourth attempt.
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 by the end of this decade and ultimately flying to Mars.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) earlier this year delayed the Artemis 3 mission, its first crewed landing on the Moon in half a century using SpaceX's Starship spacecraft, until September 2026. It was previously planned for late 2025, NASA said.
Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa in June canceled a private mission around the moon that he had paid for and that was to use SpaceX's Starship, citing uncertainties in the rocket's development timeline.
