On Sunday, Elon Musk announced that not just one but five uncrewed SpaceX Starships will be sent to Mars in two years. If this mission is successful, then the first crewed spaceship will also follow in the next four years.
It all depends on the safe landing and research collected by the uncrewed spaceships that will determine if it is possible to send humans to Mars without causing any harm. If the first attempt fails, then the project will be delayed by another two years.
These are exciting announcements that come with a warning that exploring another planet is complex and needs heavy investment and thorough research. This isn’t a new Mars project that SpaceX has undertaken because in June a Starship rocket survived a hypersonic return from space and achieved a successful landing in the Indian Ocean. It was able to complete a full test mission around the globe on the rocket’s fourth try.
The goal of the tech expert is to produce a large, multipurpose next-generation spacecraft capable of sending people and cargo to the moon. This may happen in this decade or next, but it feels like a plot out of a Star Trek movie to ultimately travel to Mars.
Though NASA’s Artemis 3 and spacecraft of many other nations are also planning to win this race to reach Mars first. However, it seems that SpaceX’s out-of-the-universe ambitions may win over them.