SpaceX founder Elon Musk has announced that his Starship rocket will launch a mission to Mars by the end of next year, despite recent explosions during flight tests. The company is investigating these incidents and plans to review data to determine their cause.
Musk’s ambitious plan for a human mission to Mars is crucial to his goal of colonizing the planet. However, Starship has suffered multiple failures in its testing, including an explosion just minutes after launch from Texas last week and a similar incident in January.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires SpaceX to conduct an investigation before flying again. NASA hopes to use a modified version of the spaceship as a human lunar lander for its Artemis missions.
Musk’s vision includes using the Starship system to take humans not only to Mars but also to the Moon, with plans to make humanity “multi-planetary.” He has long targeted a trip to Mars and had previously set dates in 2018 and 2026. This latest announcement puts the mission potentially as early as 2029.
The robot Optimus, developed by Tesla, will reportedly accompany Musk on the mission. The robotic humanoid is designed to perform everyday tasks and costs between $20,000 and $30,000. With this mission, Musk aims to make significant progress towards his ambitious goal of establishing a human presence on Mars.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2g88y52y8o