Elon Musk has announced that his spacecraft company SpaceX is planning to send five unmanned Starship missions to Mars in two years from now.
Musk made the announcement in a post on his social media platform X.
The tech entrepreneur has long been leading the calls for humanity to expand its exploration of Earth’s neighboring planet.
Earlier this month, Musk had said that the first Starships to Mars would launch in two years.
He said the missions will launch at that time because it is “when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens.”
On Sunday, Musk said that the timeline for the first human mission will depend upon the success of the unmanned flights.
If the five unmanned Starships land safely, missions with human crews will be launched in four years.
However, in case of challenges, crewed missions will be postponed by another two years, Musk said.
“If those all land safely, then crewed missions are possible in four years,” Musk posted on X.
“If we encounter challenges, then the crewed missions will be postponed another two years.”
However, Musk said he fears “government bureaucracy” could delay the plans.
“One of my biggest concerns right now is that the Starship program is being smothered by a mountain of government bureaucracy that grows every year,” Musk warned.
“This stifling red tape is affecting all large projects in America, which is why, for example, California has spent $7 billion dollars and several years on high-speed rail, but only has a 1600 ft section of concrete to show for it!”
“While I have many concerns about a potential Kamala regime, my absolute showstopper is that the bureaucracy currently choking America to death is guaranteed to grow under a Democratic Party administration,” Musk added.
“This would destroy the Mars program and doom humanity.”
The timeline of a two-year launch has been reduced from previous expectations.
Musk said earlier this year that the first uncrewed Starship mission to land on Mars would be within five years.
At the time, he said the first people would be landing on Mars within seven years.
In June, a Starship rocket survived a fiery, hypersonic return from space.
The spacecraft achieved a breakthrough landing demonstration in the Indian Ocean.
The Starship completed a full test mission around the globe on the rocket’s fourth try.
Musk is counting on Starship to fulfill his goal of producing a large, multipurpose next-generation spacecraft.
The spaceships will be capable of sending people and cargo to the Moon later this decade.
Ultimately, the Starships will be capable of flying to Mars.
Earlier this year, NASA delayed the Artemis 3 mission and its first crewed Moon landing in half a century using SpaceX’s Starship.
The mission was pushed back to September 2026.
It was previously planned for late 2025, NASA said.
In June, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa canceled a private mission around the Moon that he had paid for.
The planned mission was supposed to use SpaceX’s Starship.
However, Maezawa withdrew from the mission, citing schedule uncertainties in the rocket’s development.
https://slaynews.com/news/elon-musk-announces-spacex-plans-send-5-unmanned-starships-mars-2-years/
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