Elon Musk's SpaceX plots bold course with five Mars missions

SpaceX, the American space company owned by Elon Musk, plans to explore Mars intensively in the upcoming years. On Sunday, via the platform X, Musk announced that within the next two years, SpaceX will launch five unmanned Spaceship missions to the fourth planet of the Solar System.

The goal of these missions is to land on Mars and test the technology that will enable the transport of humans to the Red Planet. As Musk emphasized, the success of these flights will be crucial for SpaceX's plans.

If the unmanned missions succeed, the company plans to launch the first manned missions in four years. However, if any technical difficulties arise, the schedule may be postponed by another two years.

SpaceX will launch its first uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years, Reuters reminded, quoting Musk's earlier statements this month.

The mission schedule is precisely tied to the orbital cycles of the planets, meaning that the next opportunity to launch a rocket to Mars will appear in about two years.

It is worth recalling that Musk set ambitious goals at the beginning of 2024, assuming that the first unmanned spacecraft will land on Mars within five years. Meanwhile, the first astronauts are to set foot on Mars in seven years, which fits into the broader vision of colonizing the planet.

So far, SpaceX has made many technological breakthroughs, the latest of which was the test landing of the Starship rocket in the Indian Ocean. In June of this year, after the fourth attempt, the rocket completed a flight around the Earth and safely returned, which is an important step toward realizing the company's Martian plans.

SpaceX's plans are incredibly bold. The success of unmanned missions could open a new chapter in the history of space exploration and bring humanity closer to manned missions to Mars.