SpaceX aims to send thousands to Moon and Mars within a decade: Musk
Musk says SpaceX aims to return humans to the Moon within three years before expanding missions to the Moon and Mars over the following decade.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said the company plans to send humans back to the Moon within the next few years before transporting thousands of people to the Moon and Mars over the following decade, Forbes reported.
Speaking in an interview with Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who was guest hosting Sean Hannity's radio show on Wednesday, Musk outlined a roadmap for the company's future space exploration efforts.
Musk said he expects SpaceX to land an astronaut on the Moon within the next two to three years before rapidly expanding its missions. He said the company's long-term goal is to make space travel accessible to the public, allowing anyone who wants to travel to the Moon or Mars to do so.
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He said SpaceX hopes to transport up to "tens of thousands" of people to a lunar base within the next ten years, while acknowledging the ambitious target given that only a handful of people have ever visited the Moon. Musk added that the ultimate objective is to build a self-sustaining city on the Moon where people could live permanently or visit as tourists.
Musk also predicted that SpaceX would send its first humans to Mars within the next five years. While describing Mars missions as more challenging because of the longer journey, he said he hopes the company could send thousands of people to Mars within the following ten to twelve years.
Beyond human spaceflight, Musk said SpaceX plans to expand computing infrastructure in orbit. He said the company intends to launch its first AI satellites next year before scaling up deployments over the following two years.
The latest announcement follows a series of ambitious timelines Musk has outlined over the past decade. According to Forbes, he has repeatedly predicted that humans would reach Mars within ten years since 2011.
The publication also cited a New York Times review that found Musk had made similar claims at least 19 times in interviews and social media posts. In 2017, he also announced plans for SpaceX to fly private citizens around the Moon by 2018, a mission that never took place.
The report added that, according to SpaceX's S-1 filing, Musk stands to receive one billion additional company shares if the company reaches a market valuation of $7.5 trillion and establishes a Mars colony with at least one million inhabitants. However, some analysts have questioned whether such a colony would be financially viable because of the high cost of maintaining it.
