In December 2021, Elon Musk predicted that within 10 years humans would go to Mars. Now SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell told CNBC’s Shepard Smith on Saturday that humanity will land on the red planet before the end of the 2020s.
Large delivery to the surface of Mars
“I think it will happen in 10 years. yes. People on the moon, quick,” said Shotwell. “I think we should do more deliveries to the Martian surface, and then people will start thinking more about it,” she added. “Then in five or six years people will know that this is going to be a real place to go.”
How are ambitious executives planning to go to Mars? Aboard their new ship, the Starship.
Starship is designed to be the first reusable spacecraft that will be able to take crew & cargo to the Moon & Mars before returning to Earth and it is so advanced that it supposedly has got the competition worried.
Where is Starship at in its development?
First-ever orbital test flight
SpaceX is soon making the first orbital test flight of the spacecraft it intends to launch from a South Texas facility called Starbase. However, for this launch to occur, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must conduct an environmental review of its activities at Starbase.
This evaluation was originally scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021, but has been delayed several times by the FAA. We are currently aiming for submission on May 31st.
That doesn’t mean Starship has no missions planned.
In 2018, Japanese billionaire Yusaku Yusaku confirmed that he had booked a spacecraft to fly around the moon in 2023. Meanwhile, NASA has chosen Starship as the first manned lunar lander for the 2025 Artemis Project, its mission aims to explore moon south pole.
