Billionaire Elon Musk has announced that his space exploration technology company, SpaceX, plans to launch approximately five unmanned spacecraft to Mars within the next two years.
The Super Heavy rocket carrying SpaceX’s unmanned Starship spacecraft lifts off from Boca Chica, Texas, USA, on March 14, 2024. (Photo: AFP/TTXVN).
Earlier this month, billionaire Musk also revealed SpaceX’s plan to launch its first spacecraft to Mars within the next two years. The American billionaire stated that the timeline for the first crewed flight will depend on the results of the unmanned missions.
If the unmanned flights land safely, crewed flights will be launched within the next four years. However, if any issues arise, the crewed flights will be postponed for an additional two years.
Starship is currently the world’s most powerful space rocket system, standing at 122 meters tall, weighing 5,000 tons, equipped with 33 Raptor and Raptor Vacuum engines, and capable of burning liquid methane and liquid oxygen. The Super Heavy booster stage of Starship can generate a thrust of 74.3 Meganewtons.
On June 6, SpaceX’s Starship safely returned to Earth, successfully completing a test after three previous failures.
Billionaire Elon Musk is relying on Starship to achieve the goal of producing a next-generation large, versatile spacecraft capable of transporting people and cargo to the Moon by the end of this decade and ultimately reaching Mars.
However, missions involving Starship are currently facing several challenges. Earlier this year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) delayed the Artemis 3 mission, which aims to land humans on the Moon for the first time in over fifty years using SpaceX’s Starship system, from late 2025 to September 2026.
