SpaceX founder Elon Musk plans to send his first unmanned spaceship to Mars by 2026 followed by a manned spaceship in 2028. The first flights will be unmanned to test the reliability of landing a spaceship on Mars. If those landings are successful, then the first manned flights to Mars will be in four years. Sound unbelievable?
Bob Larson
Musk is now test flying the largest, most powerful rocket in history and plans to fly it like regular flights similar to an airliner. When he starts talking about going to Mars, he gets a bit more publicity than back in 2014 when he promised to land humans inside a decade.
“The first flights will be unmanned to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars,” he added. “If those landings go well, then the first manned flights to Mars will be in 4 years.”
“Flight rates will grow increasingly from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years. In terms of planetary travel, the timing is logical as the Earth and Mars align favorably for travel between them every 26 months. The next window for the 259-day journey in 2026 and 2028 is also a favorable year.”
As for technology, Starship has been making considerable progress in the past year, with a fifth test flight slated for the near future. If all goes to plan, both stages of Starship will be able to return to their launch site where they will be retrieved and can quickly be refurbished for the next flight.
This is just the beginning of long-distance spaceship travel. I wonder when he will be able to move from rocket power to much faster technology to reduce the time travel to Mars and other planets? This is another example of technology benefits for our human race! Bob Larson is a technologist and the Marketing Director for 50 Plus.