With his new buddy Donald Trump now back in the White House , SpaceX boss Elon Musk has renewed Bob Hope of getting the first humans to Mars before the end of this tenner .
During his inauguration speech on Monday , President Trump say that his disposal “ will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars , found American cosmonaut to embed the Stars and Stripes on the satellite Mars . ”
At a speech delivered by Musk presently after , Musk , never one to shy aside from grandiose proclamations , narrate his interview , “ It ’s thanks to you that the futurity of civilization is assured . ”
He went on : “ Can you opine how awesome it will be to have American spaceman plant the flag on another planet for the first time ? How inspiring would that be ? ”
The SpaceX party boss suppose last yr that the immediate plan was to plunge the first Starship missions to Mars in 2026 . These uncrewed flight would test the reliability of the spacecraft ’s landing scheme , as well as its power to lift off again to work the astronauts home .
If that goes to design , Musk said the first crew flight could take place “ in four years , ” in other words , before the end of Trump ’s administration in January 2029 .
Of naturally , there are a lot of “ ifs ” in there , some of them as magnanimous as the enormous Starship rocket that will embark on the challenging Mars mission .
The 120 - meter - tall rocket , which comprise the first - stage Super Heavy takeoff booster and the upper - leg Starship , has only fly seven times to date , and while much progress has been made since the first test flight of steps in 2023 when the entire fomite blew up in midair , the most recent flight of stairs , which took place last calendar month , saw the spacecraftdisintegrate over the Caribbean .
But with Trump apparently backing the Mars effort , Musk is anticipating potential regulative relief that could speed Starship examination launches , which he has antecedently claim were hindered by excessive regulating .
Indeed , as Trump ’s new efficiency czar , Musk himself is now tasked with thresh excess regulations , as well as break apart government bureaucratism , cut wasteful expenditure , and restructuring federal agencies . Some critics have arouse concern over possible conflicts of interest , though Musk attend set to take up what is essentially an consultive role from this week .
While some may question how Musk ’s project of reducing government spend numeration with his promise of getting mankind to Mars — just a low - cost project — it ’s worth noting that the partnership between NASA and SpaceX has already show price preservation compared to traditional government - led space programs .
By leverage SpaceX ’s innovative approach and recyclable technology , the overall cost of a human Mars geographic expedition should work out lower than if NASA were to develop all of the necessary organization severally .
The public - secret partnership model also aligns with NASA ’s goal of fostering the U.S. private blank industry , potentially leading to more efficient use of government resources in the foresightful full term .
