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SpaceX is reportedly slated to be ready to launch its revolutionary spacecraft on an unmanned mission to Mars in 2024, Elon Musk revealed to the International Convention of the Mars Society. Speaking with Mars Society founder Robert Zubrin, Musk said, “I think we have a great opportunity to achieve that second window of transfer to Mars.”
This “window” referred to by the SpaceX chief is a launch opportunity that arises every 26 months for missions to Mars when the planets are particularly close.
However, Musk admitted that this timeline for the rocket’s progress “is just guesswork, obviously” and may well change.
He added: “It’s not that I have all these secret dates and I’m hiding them from people.
The new rocket prototype has so far completed at least two successful 492-foot (150 m) test jumps.
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If Starship meets this ambitious goal, this mission will witness a historic launch to Mars in a SpaceX Starship launch vehicle.
Starship is a super heavy, fully reusable, two-stage to orbit launch vehicle currently under construction at the facilities of the private space company Boca Chica South Texas.
SpaceX also intends to use Starship for missions to the Moon beginning in 2022, in addition to point-to-point travel around the planet.
Musk has spoken before about how he believes humans should urgently establish a permanent, self-sustaining presence on the red planet to ensure “continuity of consciousness as we know it.”
“There are all kinds of other systems that will be necessary.
“My personal hope is that we see Starship in the stratosphere before it comes out this year, and if Elon is right, it reaches orbit next year or the following year.
“This will change people’s opinion of what is possible.”
“And then, you know, we’ll have NASA looking to fund the remaining pieces of the puzzle or entrepreneurs stepping up to develop the remaining pieces of the puzzle.”
If Musk’s potentially overly ambitious estimates are correct, SpaceX’s first mission to Mars would occur the same year that NASA’s Artemis program will attempt to re-plant astronauts on the Moon.
NASA recently selected SpaceX as one of three teams to develop lunar landers for the all-female Artemis program.
SpaceX also intends to take a trio of paid space tourists on a Starship mission around the Moon the following year.
Musk revealed during the conference how if it weren’t for the orbital mechanics that means Mars launches every 26 months, SpaceX “might have a chance to send or try to send something to Mars in three years.
He added: “But the window is four years away, because they are in different parts of the solar system.”
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