New Delhi: Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, has a riveting proposal for sending the Starship rocket to Mars by late 2026. Tesla’s humanoid robot Optimus will tag along with the mission too, and this marks a significant stride in Mars surface exploration. Even Musk has mentioned that human beings could be present on Mars by as early as 2029, though he feels 2031 is achievable.
SpaceX recently celebrated its 23rd anniversary, founded on March 14, 2002, despite all the triumphs and achievements of the company, it has been hit with some major setbacks for its Starship test flights, all eight of its recent test launches have gone bust, including the latest on March 7, which culminated in an explosion shortly after liftoff, this created space rubbish, attracting the attention of the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), which is now investigating the incidents, while SpaceX needs FAA approval for future tests, which are necessary to determine that Starship is safe and efficient for long-duration spaceflights, such as in-orbit refueling, one of the most interesting things about this mission is that it has the Tesla Optimus robot on board. Developed in 2021, Optimus has been designed to do a variety of tasks on Earth and in space, and Musk has ambitions for the robot to be a key component in preparing Mars for human habitation as early as 2026, its ability to assist in exploration and establishment could be priceless in terms of establishing Mars as habitable in the future.
The dream of human settlement:
Musk’s ultimate goal is to make Mars a self-sustaining planet where humans can live. He predicts this could occur as early as 25 to 50 years, the 2026 mission is an important stepping stone, and he would like to see humans start landing on Mars in 2029 or, more realistically, in 2031. But this depends on the success of the first robotic missions.
SpaceX’s work is also connected to other major space projects. NASA, for example, is seeking a variant of Starship to be developed as a lunar lander for its Artemis mission, which will send astronauts to the Moon this decade, there’s even been talk of focusing more on Mars than the Moon, which would alter the course of near-future space exploration.
