SpaceX (SPACE) will launch its first uncrewed spacecraft to Mars in two years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens, founder Elon Musk said in a post on X on Saturday.
According to Musk, unmanned flights will test the reliability of landing intact on Mars. If successful, “the first manned flights to Mars will take place within four years,” he added.
“The rate of flights will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years,” said the billionaire boss of SpaceX (SPACE) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA).
In April, Musk had said the first unmanned Starship would land on Mars within five years, and that people would reach Mars within seven to nine years.
SpaceX (SPACE) achieved a key goal in June with its Starship rocket, which it touts as the most powerful ever built, by steering the spacecraft toward a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
The commercial space company has ambitions to build a fleet of Starships that can be reused for multiple missions, including returning American astronauts to the Moon, exploring deep space and accessing Mars.