Elon Musk says his Starship rocket will land on Mars ‘well before 2030’ to create ‘Base Alpha’
ELON Musk is set on getting to Mars as quickly as possible.
The billionaire claimed in a recent tweet that his company SpaceX would reach the Red Planet "well before 2030".
It comes as the latest prototype of the US firm's huge Starship rocket prepares for lift-off from a SpaceX facility in Texas.
"SpaceX will be landing Starships on Mars well before 2030," Musk tweeted on Tuesday.
"The really hard threshold is making Mars Base Alpha self-sustaining."
Musk has previously claimed that Starship – a bullet-shaped stainless steel tower standing 160ft tall – could reach Mars as early as 2022.
That would take the form of an unmanned flight carrying cargo to the planet.
Starship's first flight to Earth orbit will take place this year, according to SpaceX.
SN11, the company's latest prototype, fired up its engines as part of a series of static tests early this morning ahead of its first flight.
The rocket could blast into the sky this week, weather permitted. SpaceX will use the test to collect data that will inform future flights.
Expectations for the first flight of SN11 are high after its predecessor, SN10, met a fiery end earlier this month.
The prototype shot six miles into the air during a test flight on March 4 before touching down safely at the Starship facility in Boca Chica, Texas.
It stood upright on the ground for about 10 minutes before suddenly bursting into flames due to a possible methane leak.
Two other rockets, SN8 and SN9, met similar violent ends following flights in December and January.
Starship is in the early stages of development, and trial launches have thus far taken the form of high-altitude flights of a few miles.
SpaceX plans to reach orbit with the rocket in an unmanned flight by 2022.
Billionaire Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, hopes to send a million people to Mars in his lifetime using a 1,000-strong fleet of the powerful rockets.
The finished product will stand 165ft (50 metres) tall and boast six of SpaceX's powerful Raptor engines.
What is SpaceX?
Here's what you need to know...
SpaceX is a cash-flushed rocket company that wants to take man to Mars.
It was set up by eccentric billionaire Elon Musk in 2002 and is based in Hawthorne, California.
SpaceX's first aim was to build rockets that can autonomously land back on Earth for refurbishment and re-use.
The technology makes launching and operating space flights more efficient, and therefore cheaper.
SpaceX currently uses its reusable Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets to fly cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) for Nasa.
It also carries satellites and other space tech into orbit for various government agencies and multinational companies.
The company took astronauts to the ISS for the first time in 2020.
Other future missions involve carrying tourists to the ISS and astronauts to the Moon and Mars.
Musk has repeatedly said he believes humanity must colonise Mars to save itself from extinction.
He plans to get a SpaceX rocket to the Red Planet by 2027.
According to SpaceX, the contraption will hit speeds of 15,000mph (25,000kph), making it the world's most powerful spacecraft.
In a series of tweets last year, Musk outlined how his Starlink plans would open up space travel to anyone, regardless of their income.
"Needs to be such that anyone can go if they want, with loans available for those who don't have money," he wrote.
Musk's plan involves building an expansive fleet of Starship vehicles, which comprise a huge rocket topped by a bullet-shaped spacecraft.
SpaceX says reusable rockets that can land and take off again make space travel more cost effective, accessible and sustainable.
However, the team has a long way to go before they can conduct Starship's first manned flight.
Musk is targeting a Mars cargo mission by 2022 and a manned flight to the Red Planet by 2024.
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