There’s no question — Elon Musk has big plans for sending humans to Mars, and sooner than you’d think.
SpaceX’s Starship rocket has completed six test launches as of September 2020. Its latest prototype, SN6, launched 500 feet into the air and landed successfully on September 3.
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And Musk has big plans for the next few years. He recently laid out a timeline for getting to the Red Planet.
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What’s happening right now
SpaceX has started constructing a Super Heavy Booster prototype that will lift Starship and its eventual 100 passengers into space.
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Fall 2020
Musk says we might get to see a hop test of the first Super Heavy Booster prototype — it could be within the next month.
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October 2020
A likely SpaceX event will provide updates on the company’s progress, and more details for the future of Starship.
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Sometime 2021
SpaceX wants to send its first fully reusable Starship craft on an orbital flight. But even Musk admits the effort may fail to get off the ground given the short timeline.
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Sometime 2022: Mars?
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If the orbital flight happens, then SpaceX aims to send an uncrewed cargo ship to Mars in 2022.
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Sometime 2024: Mars?????
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If everything else goes to plan, Musk says he wants to start sending crewed missions to Mars by 2024.