Elon Musk has announced a major shift in SpaceX’s spaceflight ambitions. The billionaire says the company is now prioritizing building a self-sustaining human settlement on the Moon, moving away from its long-publicized push to send humans to Mars in the near future.
Elon Musk reveals new SpaceX plans
Musk revealed the change in a statement posted to X on February 8. Musk declared that SpaceX has “already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon,” arguing that this goal is more immediately achievable. “We can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years,” Musk wrote.
He elaborated on the practical advantages, noting, “It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six month trip time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2 day trip time). This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city.”
This announcement is a stark reversal for Elon Musk, who has been the most vocal proponent of a Mars-focused future. As recently as last year, he criticized NASA’s Artemis moon program as a “distraction,” writing on X, “No, we’re going straight to Mars. The Moon is a distraction.” He had also previously expressed confidence in an aggressive timeline for Mars, stating during a 2020 awards show that he was confident SpaceX would land humans on Mars by 2026, and “if we get lucky, maybe four years (via Business Insider).”
While the Moon is now the “overriding priority,” Musk clarified that Mars remains on the agenda. “SpaceX will also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years, but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster,” he stated.
He reaffirmed that the core “mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars.” The concept of a “self-growing city” on the Moon, however, remains undefined.
