Elon Musk has long harbored grand ambitions for space, and his plans now appear to be advancing to a new stage. The billionaire announced on platform X that his aerospace company, SpaceX, has re-prioritized its near-term human spaceflight objectives, placing the establishment of a permanent, self-sustaining settlement on the Moon ahead of crewed missions to Mars. A successful lunar settlement would demonstrate technologies critical for any future Mars mission, potentially accelerating timelines once these capabilities are proven. This move would also strengthen SpaceX's position in the space race.
"For those unaware, SpaceX has shifted focus to building a self-sustaining city on the Moon, as we could potentially achieve this in under 10 years, whereas Mars would require over 20 years," Musk wrote on X. He emphasized the Moon's decisive advantage in launch frequency—approximately every 10 days, compared to the 26-month window required for favorable Earth-Mars alignment—as well as the shorter transit time of about two days versus six to nine months for Mars. This announcement follows a report by The Wall Street Journal last week indicating that SpaceX had informed investors of its plan to prioritize lunar missions before attempting large-scale Martian exploration. The company now aims for an uncrewed lunar landing in March 2027 as a key milestone in its revised roadmap.
Musk further highlighted that the Moon offers a shorter development cycle for testing and iterating on critical technologies: habitat construction, in-situ resource utilization, power systems, life support, and large-scale surface operations. "This means we can iterate on a lunar city much faster than a Martian one," he stated. He added that SpaceX will continue parallel work on Mars, with initial steps toward Martian settlement expected to begin within five to seven years.
This shift brings SpaceX's plans closer to the stated objectives of the Trump administration. Last year, President Trump directed NASA via an executive order to return Americans to the Moon by 2028 through the Artemis program. SpaceX, a key contractor for the program with its Starship vehicle, aims to establish a permanent lunar outpost by 2030. This marks a change from Trump's earlier rhetoric during the 2024 campaign, where he repeatedly called for planting the American flag on Mars before the end of his term. NASA's current schedule targets Artemis III, the crewed lunar landing, for mid-2027, although the program has faced multiple delays. Industry observers widely anticipate further setbacks, citing technical challenges with SpaceX's still-in-development lunar lander.
Nevertheless, this move is not entirely surprising for Musk, who has long argued that becoming a multi-planetary species is crucial for humanity's long-term survival, with Mars initially viewed as the primary destination. He has revised earlier timelines multiple times: in 2016, he mentioned the possibility of Mars passenger flights as early as 2024, while in 2011 he told The Wall Street Journal that a crewed Mars mission could happen in "10 years in a best-case scenario, 15 to 20 years worst-case." Frequent lunar access could allow SpaceX to apply its iterative development philosophy—rapid prototyping, testing, failure, and improvement—at an unprecedented pace. In contrast, Mars missions are constrained by the synodic period between Earth and Mars, limiting launch windows to approximately every 26 months, as previously noted.
