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Elon Musk indicated that SpaceX plans to conduct five uncrewed Starship missions headed to Mars in the next two years, with crewed flights to follow.
The CEO shared this in a recent post on X:
SpaceX plans to launch about five uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years.
If those all land safely, then crewed missions are possible in four years. If we encounter challenges, then the crewed missions will be postponed another two years.
It is only possible to travel from… https://t.co/dzi03Hnyhg
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 22, 2024
Musk announced that the schedule for the initial crewed mission hinges on the success of these uncrewed flights. If they are successful, crewed missions could follow in four years. However, any issues could delay this timeline by two years.
The CEO noted that, regardless of the outcome of landings, SpaceX aims to significantly boost the number of spacecraft heading to Mars with each transit window.
By the way, our commercial Starlink program is the primary source of funding for Starship (NASA is helping too).
So thank for buying Starlink and supporting humanity’s future in space.
If you look closely at your Starlink router, you will notice that it has an illustration of…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 22, 2024
At the start of the month, Musk indicated that the first Starship missions would align with the Earth-Mars transfer window opening in two years. SpaceX plans to deploy uncrewed Starships then, followed by crewed missions in four years, aiming to establish an autonomous city on Mars within 20 years.
Musk on the Way to Mars
In June, SpaceX’s Starship successfully returned to Earth for the first time during its fourth flight test, executing a flip maneuver and achieving a soft splashdown in the Indian Ocean. This milestone demonstrated that all components can return intact, which is essential for future NASA Artemis missions aimed at returning humans to the Moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, as well as for deep space projects.
Despite delays leading to cancellations, including Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa’s lunar tourist flight, Musk envisions Starship carrying people and cargo to the Moon later this decade and eventually to Mars.
Musk frequently underscores that SpaceX’s ultimate goal is to send humans to Mars. Earlier this year, he estimated the initial uncrewed Starship could touch down there in five years, with a crewed mission following in seven.
