Aerospace company SpaceX plans to conduct the first unmanned launch of its Starship to Mars at the end of 2026. This will happen when the next favorable period for launching Mars missions arrives, which happens once every 26 months. The head of SpaceX, Elon Musk, wrote about this on his page on the social network X.
Image source: x.com/SpaceX
«They will be unmanned to test the ability to land on Mars intact,” Musk wrote in one message. He also added that if the landing test is successful in unmanned mode, then SpaceX’s first manned missions to the Red Planet will be launched in four years. After this, the number of Mars missions will grow exponentially in order to build a self-sufficient city on the Red Planet in about 20 years.
Earlier this year, Musk said the first unmanned Starship would land on Mars in five years, and the first humans would land on the planet in seven years. In June, SpaceX flight tested Starship, which uses a giant Super Heavy launch vehicle to launch it. SpaceX plans to use Starship not only on Mars missions, but also to carry astronauts and cargo to the Moon.