SpaceX was supposed to start sending uncrewed rockets to Mars this year. But now, CEO Elon Musk says his company has “shifted focus” to building a base on the Moon, sparking new questions about his ambitions for the Red Planet.
As millions tuned in to the Super Bowl on Sunday night, Musk tweeted, “For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.”
It’s a change from last year, when he posted: “No, we’re going straight to Mars. The Moon is a distraction.” But that was before NASA reopened a lunar lander contract awarded to SpaceX, citing delays with the company’s powerful Starship vehicle. Blue Origin jumped at the chance to steal business from Musk’s company, and SpaceX later said it was prepping a “simplified” version of its Human Landing System (HLS). So, lunar projects are now top of mind for SpaceX.
Still, Musk has long talked about traveling to Mars. In 2013, he said he wanted to “die on Mars, just not on impact.” However, the company has quietly told private investors that it’s now prioritizing the Moon, with a target flight of March 2027, The Wall Street Journal reports.
“Mars will start in 5 or 6 years,” Musk later wrote in another tweet, “so will be done in parallel with the Moon, but the Moon will be the initial focus.”
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In explaining the shift, the billionaire notes that the most fuel-efficient path between the Earth and Mars only opens up every 26 months due to planetary orbits. “Whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2 day trip time),” he added. “This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city.”
Musk also insists he isn’t abandoning his Mars ambitions. “We will still do Mars in parallel, but the critical path to a self-growing Moon city is faster,” he wrote in a follow-up tweet. “The Moon city can be made to be self-growing in less than half the time of Mars.” In another tweet, Musk also mentions the possibility of crewed flights to Mars in 2031.
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The SpaceX website still lists ‘Mars 2026’ as a goal. (Credit: SpaceX)
The SpaceX CEO views a Moon base as a self-sustaining colony, even though there’s no air, it features extreme temperature swings, and is regularly bombarded with dangerous radiation. “The Moon would establish a foothold beyond Earth quickly, to protect life against risk of a natural or manmade disaster on Earth,” he tweeted. “We would continue to launch directly from Earth to Mars while possible, rather than Moon to Mars, as fuel is relatively scarce on the Moon.”
The Starship vehicle that would make this all possible is still undergoing flight tests. Nevertheless, Musk aims to use Starship to deploy next-generation Starlink satellites sometime this year, in addition to its lunar lander work. Not to mention deploying up to one million satellites for orbital data centers.
SpaceX is also preparing for an IPO, which could raise as much as $50 billion.
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