Elon Musk Says SpaceX's First Mission to Mars Will Launch Next Year

"SpaceX founder Elon Musk has said his Starship rocket will head to Mars by the end of next year," writes the BBC, "as the company investigates several recent explosions in flight tests."Human landings could begin as early as 2029 if initial missions go well, though "2031 was more likely", he added in a post on his social media platform X... The billionaire said in 2020 that he remained confident that his company would land humans on Mars six years later. In 2024, he said he would launch the first Starships to Mars in 2026, with plans to send crewed flights in four years. Musk has said that the coming Mars mission would carry the Tesla humanoid robot "Optimus", which was shown to the public last year.

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