Elon Musk says SpaceX is prioritising a lunar settlement within a decade, aligning with US policy, while delaying more ambitious Mars colonisation plans.
WASHINGTON: SpaceX is deprioritising its long-held ambition of colonising Mars to focus on building a city on the Moon, founder Elon Musk announced.
The billionaire stated the lunar goal is more achievable within a decade, compared to a Mars mission requiring over 20 years.
“For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years,” Musk posted on X.
He cited the logistical challenge of Mars travel, which is only possible during planetary alignments every 26 months.
“We can launch to the Moon every 10 days,” he added, allowing for faster development cycles.
The strategic pivot aligns with US President Donald Trump’s space policy, which now emphasises a lunar return.
An executive order last year set a goal of landing Americans on the Moon by 2028 under NASA’s Artemis program.
This marks a shift from Trump’s earlier declaration of aiming for a Mars landing within his term.
SpaceX is a key contractor for the Artemis program, developing a lunar lander.
The current NASA schedule aims for a crewed Moon landing in mid-2027 on the Artemis 3 mission.
However, industry experts predict further delays as SpaceX’s lander is not yet ready.
Musk has a history of optimistic timelines for Mars, having predicted crewed missions as early as 2024 back in 2016.
In 2011, he told the Wall Street Journal a Mars arrival was possible in 10 to 20 years.
Despite the new lunar focus, Musk insisted the company has not abandoned its Martian ambitions.
He said SpaceX would “also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years.”
The move comes after years of critics labelling Musk’s Mars colonisation plans as overambitious.
