SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk declared that his company is about to launch its first uncrewed mission to Mars in less than four years from present.
SpaceX is on track to propel its first uncrewed mission to Mars in less than four years from the present. Consequently, the private spaceflight company’s founder and CEO Elon Musk told on Friday.
“I think we have a determined probability of making that secondary Mars transfer window.”
Space.com quoted Elon Musk, stating so during a conference at the International Mars Society Convention.
All about the launch to the Mars
The chance to launch a mission to Mars happens every 26 months, the report in Space.com said.
Since NASA, China, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) propelled missions to Mars in July this year, the next opportunity is to open around 2022.
Musk further quoted that SpaceX “would maybe have a chance of sending or trying to send something to Mars in three years.”
This chance is possible only if the mission timings didn’t depend on the “orbital mechanics that call for Mars ejects every 26 months.”
“Earth and Mars won’t be in the most suitable position. But the window is four years apart because of them being in separate parts of the solar system,” he said.
The uncrewed Starship of SpaceX and its purpose
SpaceX will propel its first uncrewed mission to Mars on its massive Starship rocket.
Starship is a “reusable rocket-and-spacecraft combo,” built at the company’s South Texas facility, the report stated.
The report further said, “SpaceX is also preparing to use Starship for purposes to the Moon starting in 2022. Consequently, it is also planning point-to-point voyages around the Earth.”
Big plans for SpaceX
Elon Musk has concluded that human beings need to build a self-sustaining and robust presence on Mars. This practice is to ensure “the continuance of consciousness as we know it.”
This event is also real if some nuclear war or asteroid strike leaves Earth uninhabitable, the report said.
Nevertheless, Musk’s SpaceX doesn’t have any intentions to build a Mars base.
“As a transportation company, it’s the only aim is to ferry cargo [and humans] to and from Mars. Alongside helping the development of someone else’s Mars base,” the report said.
Mars Society founder Robert Zubrin says, “SpaceX is catching on the biggest single challenge. That is the transportation system. There are all varieties of other systems that are going to be required.”
Image courtesy of Khairil Azhar Junos/Shutterstock