Aerospace company SpaceX plans to conduct the first unmanned launch of its Starship to Mars in late 2026. This will happen when the next favorable period for launching missions to Mars occurs, which happens once every 26 months. This is what Elon Musk, the head of SpaceX, wrote on his page in the X social network.
„They will be unmanned to test the ability to land on Mars,” Musk wrote in the announcement. He also added that if the landing test is successful in unmanned mode, then SpaceX's first manned missions to the Red Planet will be launched in four years. After that, the number of missions to Mars will grow exponentially to build a self-sufficient city on the Red Planet, which will happen in about 20 years.
Earlier this year, Musk said the first unmanned Starship would land on Mars in five years, and the first humans would land on the planet in seven years. In June, SpaceX tested the Starship, which uses a giant super-heavy launch vehicle to launch it. SpaceX plans to use Starship not only for missions to Mars, but also to transport astronauts and cargo to the Moon.