In 2020, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk expressed strong confidence in launching the first crewed Mars mission by 2026. Here's a precise breakdown of how these historic interplanetary voyages will unfold.
Founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the vision of making humanity multi-planetary, SpaceX is developing the Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster. Starship, a fully reusable 50-meter-tall vehicle, is undergoing high-altitude tests at the Boca Chica facility in Texas, with suborbital flights planned for next year.
The Super Heavy booster is a massive reusable rocket: 72 meters tall and 9 meters in diameter, powered by 28 Raptor engines—roughly three times more powerful than the Falcon 9's Merlin engines. Stacked with Starship, the full stack reaches 122 meters in height.
SpaceX targets an uncrewed Mars mission in 2024, followed by a crewed one in 2026. Now, let's examine the travel sequence.
– The Starship, atop its Super Heavy booster, launches and reaches Earth orbit. However, it requires refueling for the interplanetary leg.
– The booster returns to Earth, while a tanker variant of Starship—loaded with propellant—launches to rendezvous in orbit.
– The tanker docks with the primary Starship, transferring up to 100 tons of liquid oxygen and methane before returning to Earth.
– Fully fueled, Starship embarks on the six-month voyage to Mars.
– Upon arrival, it enters the Martian atmosphere at around 7.5 km/s, executing a "belly flop" maneuver at a 70-80 degree angle to shed velocity and minimize heat shield needs for reusability.
– Nearing the surface, Starship flips upright, fires its engines for a precise landing. The hatch opens—welcome to Mars!
The accompanying video illustrates these stages vividly.
