Brian Wang Elon Musk says that uncrewed Starships will be launched to Mars in the Earth-Mars transfer window. The transfer window is about November through December 2026. A mission launched in November would arrive July 2027. SpaceX will likely launch about 4-8 missions in 2026. If they were separated by 1-2 weeks, then any problems the first ones have could have some adjustments for later attempts one week apart. They would take supplies and equipment which if landed onto Mars would setup for the 2028-2030 launch of crewed missions. Ideally 2 years before a crewed missions supplies and equipment would safely land on Mars and be waiting for the crew. Robotic equipment to make landing pads and living quarters would be good. The first Starships to Mars will launch in 2 years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens. These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars. If those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in 4 years. Flight rate will… https://t.co/ZuiM00dpe9 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 7, 2024 Elon Describes the Mars Plans Again The first Starships to Mars will launch in 2 years when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens. These will be uncrewed to test the reliability of landing intact on Mars. If those landings go well, then the first crewed flights to Mars will be in 4 years. Flight rate will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years. Being multiplanetary will vastly increase the probable lifespan of consciousness, as we will no longer have all our eggs, literally and metabolically, on one planet. SpaceX created the first fully reusable rocket stage and, much more importantly, made the reuse economically viable. Making life multiplanetary is fundamentally a cost per ton to Mars problem. It currently costs about a billion dollars per ton of useful payload to the surface of Mars. That needs to be improved to $100k/ton to build a self-sustaining city there, so the technology needs to be 10,000 times better. Extremely difficult, but not impossible. Brian Wang Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology. Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels. A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements. Categories