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People could be on Mars within four years if SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's vision comes true. He added that SpaceX will land on the red planet in the next two years, an ambitious goal for the space exploration company.
Musk wrote on the X platform that "the first ships to Mars will launch in 2 years, when the next window for the transfer of Earth-Mars opens".
The mission will be unmanned and aims to "test the reliability of landing on Mars. "If those landings go well, then the first manned flights to Mars will be in 4 years," added Musk.
SpaceX has always planned to go to Mars, but the new timeline may seem overly ambitious. SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission, the first private spacewalk, was supposed to launch last month, but has faced several delays recently, including a leak in equipment. This mission, while dangerous, is not as much as a Mars landing.
Musk claims that once SpaceX is able to land on the red planet, "the rate of flights will increase exponentially, with the goal of building a city that will function without the need for outside assistance in about 20 years."
"Being multiplanetary will greatly increase the potential lifespan of consciousness," Musk said.