SpaceX founder Elon Musk stated on Saturday (March 15, 2025) its large Starship rocket would depart for Mars at the tip of 2026 with Tesla humanoid robot Optimus onboard, including that human landings may comply with “as soon as 2029.”
“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,” Mr. Musk stated on his X social community.
Starship — the world’s largest and strongest rocket — is vital to Mr. Musk’s long-term imaginative and prescient of colonizing Mars.
NASA can also be awaiting a modified model of Starship as a lunar lander for its Artemis program, which goals to return astronauts to the Moon this decade.
But earlier than SpaceX can perform these missions, it should show the car is dependable, secure for crew, and able to advanced in-orbit refuelling — vital for deep house missions.
SpaceX confronted a setback this month when its newest take a look at flight of the Starship prototype resulted in a fiery explosion, even because the booster was efficiently caught in its orbital take a look at.
It was a close to replay of the earlier try.
Minutes after elevate off and booster separation, a reside video feed confirmed the higher stage tumbling uncontrollably earlier than the sign abruptly reduce.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated SpaceX shall be required to conduct an investigation earlier than it may possibly fly once more.
Published – March 15, 2025 01:29 pm IST
