Ready… Set… WHEN?

Every 26 months the planets align in such a way that it is ideal to send spaceships to Mars.

Therefore, SpaceX is aiming to send their first spaceships to Mars as soon as 2022.

One of the goals for this trip will be to see if they are able to launch a rocket from Earth and then refuel it in orbit using a second rocket.

A 2018 launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Photo: Bill Jelen

If they’re able to successfully land on Mars, the spaceship will drop off some cargo that will be used by the first Martians arriving just a few years later.

This first Starship will probably stay on Mars, for the first Martian to use as resources when they arrive.

Manned Mission

If the 2022 operation is successful, we are ready for history’s first manned mission to Mars!

An astronaut. Photo: Bradley Dunn

In 2024 the planets will again be aligned in a way that’s suitable for Mars travel, and this could be our first opportunity to send humans to Mars!

If the 2022 mission wasn’t completed, SpaceX’s first spaceships aim to go to Mars in 2024, and we might have our first Martian in early 2027.

On SpaceX' website you can learn more about their exciting plans on making humanity multiplanetary.