Elon Musk again announces a grand plan of space colonization. According to the latest information, SpaceX should send the first supplies to the Moon and Mars by the end of this year, as the beginning of the construction of future colonies.
Musk said in a recent program that he wants to send tens of thousands of people to the lunar base in the next ten years. The first step, according to him, should be the transportation of basic cargo, equipment and materials, in order to pave the way for later human missions.
The plan envisages that in the next two to three years SpaceX will first send astronauts to the moon, and then accelerate the expansion of the space infrastructure from there. Within five years, Musk expects human missions to both the Moon and Mars, while in ten years there should be a permanent city on the surface of the Moon.
SpaceX plans to send the first supplies for future colonies on the Moon and Mars
According to his vision, such a lunar city would be functional, self-sustaining and intended not only for permanent residence, but also for tourist visits. In other words, in this announcement, the Moon is not only viewed as a scientific base, but as the first large extraterrestrial settlement.
Mars, however, is a much more demanding target. Musk admits that sending humans to Mars is far more difficult due to the longer journey and more complex conditions. Nevertheless, SpaceX reportedly still plans to land people on Mars within five years, and to send thousands of people there within ten to twelve years.
SpaceXThe expansion of space data centers also fits into the plan. Musk claims that SpaceX will launch the first AI satellites next year, and then begin mass deployment within two years. With this, the company would try to expand the computing infrastructure outside of Earth.
One of the members of the founding team of SpaceX, Jim Cantrell, further stated that robots should build settlements before the arrival of humans. The idea is to prepare the basic infrastructure in advance, so that the first crews arrive in an environment that already has some functional systems.
For such plans, Mask also announces a new transport rocket, larger than the current Starship system. On the X Network, he stated that SpaceX is considering developing an even larger transport vehicle, which could carry more massive cargo for future space bases.
However, all these announcements should be taken with a big grain of salt. Back in 2011, Musk predicted that humans would reach Mars within a decade, and over the years he repeated similar forecasts at least 19 times in interviews and on social media. None of those announcements have come true so far.
That’s why the latest SpaceX plan sounds spectacular, but how realistic it is remains an open question. The first supplies for the Moon and Mars would represent an important step, but the journey from cargo in space to self-sustaining cities on other worlds remains a huge challenge.