A human-crewed flight of the rocket was initially planned for September 2018 but got pushed back due to unforeseen "enhancements." They announced the first successful launch of their Falcon 9 Heavy reusable orbital-class rocket in February 2018.
Space X aims to develop a full-scale Martian city with 10k people as soon as 2028. They hope that they will be able to send 1000 people at a time instead of 100. They plan to start by building the Residential City, then the Launch and Re-entry sector, and finally the Industrial Sector. The company is already making plans for its new Lunar Bases and hopes to build them within years. It is currently unknown what Space X already has planned, but it seems like they will be increasing the number of launches each year and stepping up production.
Why Mars?
The reason Musk wants to go to Mars is to benefit from the planet's resources. The planet is only about 1/5th the size of earth, but it has a lot more water than its counterpart. Musk believes this could be like "terraforming": making Mars like Earth. He stated that if we can make Mars habitable, then we should do it as it would greatly benefit us on many levels. The first step is to develop an autonomous city on the red planet with enough people and supplies to last 100 years. At that rate, they expect to build a fully functioning colony within the next couple of decades.
Challenges Astronauts Could Face on Mars
Once arriving at Mars, Astronauts will have to deal with their new living situation. Actually, the first challenge will be landing on Mars. If they are successful, they will need to set up camp and make it habitable for the humans to make it their home. It would need to be made with a 100% sustainable environment and be self-sufficient.
To achieve this, the space station will need to have the right tools and supplies for the job. They would have to access water, oxygen, food, and any other materials that people might need to survive on Mars. After they make a sustainable living environment, they will begin developing resources which could include extracting helium-3 from Mars' moon, Phobos. It is crucial because helium is an efficient fuel source that could power spaceships back out of our solar system.
Worst Case Scenario Space X To Land on Mars Within 10 Years
Elon Musk believes humanity can land on Mars in five years, if not then within ten years. Space X developed a Falcon 9 Heavy reusable orbital-class rocket's booster rocket - the plan was to use this for the Mars mission. They tested the rocket and made around four successful launches. However, its capabilities were limited, so Space X developed an even better space vehicle, the Starship, which is believed to have the best technology to land people on Mars.
Space X Launch Fails
In September 2016, SpaceX had another failed launch. It was their third failed attempt since June that year. During the launch of their space capsule called Dragon 2, one of the engines on the rocket went out prematurely, cutting off all power and destroying the rocket and space capsule.
The launch was supposed to test how well the heat shield technology worked during re-entry into earth's orbit, where temperatures reach up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The capsule weighed 2,600 pounds and had four new cameras and an emergency air supply. It was expected to help them on their next mission to Mars, but they have had to start again. After this crash landing, SpaceX began developing a new spacecraft that they hoped would be bigger than the one that crashed. At the same time, they wanted it to be smaller than the capsules used by NASA. The vehicle was intended to hold around 100 people and generate fuel to re-enter the earth's atmosphere.
Starship Technology
The Starship is a fully reusable launch vehicle built to get people to Mars and back. It is the successor of the Falcon 9 Reusable rocket and is supposed to be the most advanced technology ever. The rocket has less weight, more power, and a more remarkable ability to control itself during space flight. The rocket is built with a carbon fiber tank that can hold over 500,000 gallons of liquid oxygen at -297 Degrees Celsius.
Starship technology could get us to Mars sooner than intended. Musk believes that the best way to get people to Mars is to send them there in reusable rockets. It can be done by reusing the fuel in the spacecraft. The Starship will have a reusable second tank to store oxygen, hydrogen, and other fuels. It will also have a solar panel, generating energy during the flight back home.
Space X’s Successfully Land on Mars
Space X has already made an impressive effort in testing their rocket and entering space. They have only been around for 10 years, but in that time, they have made: Four successful launches, the first launch of the Falcon Heavy reusable rocket and four successful soft landings. If they continue this pace, we can expect to land on Mars within the next ten years.
