Musk: Starship to fly to Mars next year – Who will go with him?

On Saturday, March 15th, billionaire Elon Musk confirmed on X that SpaceX’s interstellar spacecraft (Starship) will head to Mars by the end of 2026. The Starship will carry Tesla’s humanoid robot, Optimus.

Musk also mentioned that if everything goes smoothly, humans may land on Mars in 2029, though he believes it’s more likely for humans to land on Mars in 2031.

Optimus replied to Musk’s statement with just two words on their X account: “Hold on.”

“The Starship is the most powerful rocket ever built, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tons of fully reusable items and 250 metric tons of goods for consumption,” SpaceX stated on its website.

In American tons, this means the Starship can carry up to 165 tons of fully reusable items and up to 275 tons of consumables.

Musk has always harbored a dream of exploring Mars and even announced an ambitious Mars colonization plan. He believes this is crucial for the long-term survival of humanity. Establishing a self-sustaining human settlement on Mars, according to Musk, will help protect civilization from threats on Earth such as nuclear warfare or climate disasters. SpaceX is actively developing the necessary technologies for the Mars mission, including advanced spacecraft and infrastructure to support human survival on Mars.

On SpaceX’s “Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species” mission page, Musk wrote, “I can’t think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.”

March 14th marked the 22nd anniversary of SpaceX’s founding. NASA astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft departed for the International Space Station (ISS), and this Dragon spacecraft will bring back two astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been in space for 9 months.

On June 5th last year, Wilmore and Williams flew to the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The original plan was for the spacecraft to return to Earth after an eight-day stay in orbit. However, a helium leak and propulsion system failure were discovered, prompting NASA to decide against bringing the Starliner back to Earth with crew members due to safety concerns.