Skip to main content

SpaceX plans uncrewed Mars mission within two years

 

SpaceX plans uncrewed Mars mission within two years

Shane McGlaun - Dec 2, 2020, 5:02am CST
0
SpaceX plans uncrewed Mars mission within two years

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gave an interview this week, where he talked about several different topics. One of the big topics he talked about was his company’s ambition for putting humans back on Mars. Musk mentioned that the company’s big shiny spacecraft known as Starship would have a high-altitude test later this week.

During the interview, he also mentioned that he expects humans to land on Mars in around six years, noting that he was “fairly confident” in that timeframe. Earth and Mars are most synchronized in orbit every 26 months. He said that SpaceX would do an uncrewed launch and landing on Mars at the next synchronization opportunity in about two years if all goes well.

Humans could first land on Mars in the next synchronization four years after the uncrewed landing. Musk also noted that his own trip into orbit would happen in 2 to 3 years. One of his key goals is to design technology to enable what he calls “a lot of people” to go to Mars to make human life interplanetary. He’s also aiming to have a base on the moon.

Something that SpaceX fans might not know is that Musk wants to be buried on Mars. One significant goal for Musk and his company is to have humans become a spacefaring society, which he believes is necessary for human survival. He wants to make living on Mars fun, exciting, and attractive rather than a necessary risk.

The first step in these ambitious plans is to build a spaceship used to carry humans to Mars. Starship is expected to conduct its first high-altitude flight test this week. The giant shiny metal ship has had multiple tests so far, and not all of them have gone to plan. SpaceX will also use that ship to help get supplies and astronauts to the moon for NASA.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SpaceX launches world’s first ‘amateur astronaut’ crew to orbit Earth

SpaceX launches world’s first ‘amateur astronaut’ crew to orbit Earth Launch marks biggest advancement so far in space tourism as Elon Musk’s company conducts first chartered passenger flight 01:58 SpaceX makes history with first all-civilian crew launched into orbit – video Alexandra Villarreal  and agencies Thu 16 Sep 2021 19.11 BST SpaceX has launched the world’s first crew of “amateur astronauts” on a private flight to circle Earth for three days. Wednesday night’s successful launch marked the most ambitious leap yet in space tourism. It’s the first chartered passenger flight for Elon Musk’s space company and the first time a rocket streaked toward orbit with a crew that contained no professional astronauts. “It blows me away, honestly,” the SpaceX director, Benji Reed, said on the eve of launch from Nasa’s Kennedy  Space  Center. “It gives me goosebumps even right now to talk about it.” Leading the flight is Jared Isaacman, 38, who made his fortune with a payment-pro...

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson may try to beat Bezos to space: report

  Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson may try to beat Bezos to space: report By  Will Feuer June 10, 2021  |  7:15am  |   Updated Enlarge Image Virgin Galactic reportedly hopes to send Sir Richard Branson on a test flight to space over the July 4 weekend. Virgin Galactic MORE ON: SPACE Bidding on a space flight with Jeff Bezos hits sky-high price Dante’s Divine Comedy to float among the stars China moves rocket to launch pad ahead of sending first crew to space station Telescope detects hundreds of mysterious radio bursts from faraway galaxies The billionaire space race is heating up. Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson is reportedly weighing how he can beat Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to space next month. Bezos, who has a net worth of about $191 billion,  announced on Monday  that he and his younger brother will be among the passengers on Blue Origin’s first crewed flight to the edge of space on July 20. On Tuesday, a  source told ...

HEAVENS ABOVE When will SpaceX Starship SN20 launch and go to the Moon, Mars?

  News Science HEAVENS ABOVE  When will SpaceX Starship SN20 launch and go to the Moon, Mars? Harry Pettit , Deputy Technology and Science Editor 17:11,  26 Nov 2021 Updated : 17:11,  26 Nov 2021 SPACEX is building a spacecraft that billionaire CEO Elon Musk says will one day take people to the Moon and Mars. It's called Starship, and the California rocket firm's latest prototype, SN20, is due for launch soon as part of the craft's first orbital test flight. 2 SpaceX is developing Starship, a spacecraft that it hopes will take people to the Moon and Mars Credit: AFP 1) When will SpaceX's Starship SN20 launch? SpaceX has said that SN20 will be its first Starship prototype to reach space. Previous versions have performed short "hops" of up to 10 km (6 miles). Lifting off atop SpaceX's huge deep-space rocket booster, Super Heavy, the 165-foot-tall (50 meters) spacecraft is expected to fly in early 2022. The precise timing of the liftoff is unclear, as SpaceX ...