Elon Musk has often ventured into making predictions, which have regularly proven to be false. Despite everything, the American billionaire made another promise: according to him, the Starship rocket will be on Mars in five years.
Elon Musk is no stranger to forecasts, although they are sometimes very risky. We saw it in autonomous driving, promised for years, and never materialized. This breakthrough has been promised for Tesla for ten years. We also see it in other areas, such as AI — expected to surpass human intellect in 2025.
In space too, Elon Musk’s predictions fail from time to time. The inaugural flight of the Falcon Heavy is a textbook case: it was initially scheduled to take place in 2013. Ultimately, it will take place in February 2018, five years later. The same goes for the tourist flight around the Moon, set for 2018. In 2024, it still has not taken place.
Elon Musk says Starship will land on Mars in 5 years
It is in this context that it is appropriate to welcome the last promise of the American billionaire. In a response published on X (formerly Twitter), Elon Musk stated on March 16 that “ the Starship will be on Mars within five years. » This horizon is given while the Starship made significant progress during its 3rd test, on March 14.
In the past, SpaceX had discussed the idea of reaching Mars very early – but without being able to keep to its schedule. There was particular talk of carrying out an experimental mission to the red planet in 2018. The deadline was then pushed back to 2020. Ultimately, the “Red Dragon” program – that was its name – was never materialized.
To date, the only successful Mars mission by SpaceX took place in 2018, but this did not involve sending a rocket to Mars. The mission, organized during the Falcon Heavy’s maiden flight in 2018, aimed to launch a Tesla Roadster car to the Red Planet – a successful mission. No landing was scheduled.
Undeniably, the challenge that Elon Musk sets for himself today regarding the Starship is much more colossal in complexity than sending an object crossing the orbit of the Red Planet. And if reaching Mars is one thing, landing is another. However, for the moment, the Starship does not have this base. He has not yet achieved this on Earth.
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