Elon Musk has revealed plans to launch a Mars mission by 2026, despite SpaceX Starship setbacks.
According to Al Jazeera, two days after SpaceX’s latest test-flight failure, the tech giant said that his space company will attempt to make its first uncrewed voyage to the red planet at the end of 2026.
In a video posted by his Los Angeles area-based rocket company on Thursday, he shared the details of the mission and Starship development timeline.
The SpaceX owner asserted that the timeline of the mission to Mars depends on the completion of several challenging technical feats during testing, most importantly a post-launch refuelling manoeuvre in Earth’s orbit.
In a video on his social media platform X, he called his Starbase industrial complex and rocket launch facility in Texas a “gateway to Mars.”
The South African-born billionaire said, “It is where we are going to develop the technology necessary to take humanity and civilisation and life as we know it to another planet for the first time in the four and a half billion year history of Earth.”
Why is the end of 2026 the best time for a Mars mission?
The end of 2026 is best for the Mras mission because it is the time Earth and the red planet align in their orbits around the Sun, creating a window offering a shorter trip to the nearest planet.
This alignment that happens after every 26 months allows spacecraft to travel to Mars in just 7-9 months.
Musk believes that there is a 50-50 percent chance that SpaceX will meet this deadline, but if they do not make it by the end of 2026 and the Starship is not ready, then SpaceX will wait for another two years for Mars mission.
