SpaceX announces plans to conquer Mars

Billionaire Elon Musk said his SpaceX space exploration technology corporation plans to launch about five unmanned spacecraft to Mars in the next two years.

SpaceX's Super Heavy rocket carrying the unmanned Starship spacecraft lifts off from the launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas, US, on March 14, 2024. (Photo: AFP/VNA).

Earlier this month, billionaire Musk also announced SpaceX's plan to launch the first spacecraft to Mars in the next two years. The American billionaire said the timeline for the first manned flight will depend on the results of the unmanned flights.

If the drone flights land safely, manned flights will launch within the next four years. However, if there are problems, manned flights will be delayed by another two years.

Starship is the most powerful space rocket system in the world today, with a height of 122m, weighing 5,000 tons, equipped with 33 Raptor and Raptor Vacuum engines, and the ability to burn liquid methane and liquid oxygen. Starship's Super Heavy booster stage is capable of generating an impulse of 74.3 Meganewtons.

On June 6, SpaceX's Starship returned safely to Earth, completing the test after three previous failures.

Billionaire Elon Musk is counting on Starship to fulfill his goal of producing a next-generation large multi-purpose spacecraft capable of taking people and cargo to the Moon by the end of this decade and eventually reaching Mars.

Starship missions are also facing some challenges. Earlier this year, NASA postponed the Artemis 3 mission, which would send humans to the moon for the first time in half a century using SpaceX's Starship system, from late 2025 to September 2026.