SpaceX has shifted its focus to building a “self‑growing city” on the Moon, which could be achieved in less than 10 years, chief executive Elon Musk says.
“It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six month trip time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2 day trip time),” Elon Musk wrote on his X social media platform.
“This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city.”
SpaceX still intends to start on Mr Musk’s long-held ambition of a city on Mars within five to seven years, “but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilisation and the Moon is faster”.
Mr Musk’s comments echo a Wall Street Journal report published last Friday, stating that SpaceX told investors it would prioritise going to the Moon and attempt a trip to Mars at a later time, targeting March 2027 for an uncrewed lunar landing.
As recently as last year, Mr Musk said he aimed to send an uncrewed mission to Mars by the end of 2026.
The US faces intense competition from China in the race to return humans to the lunar surface, which has not happened since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.
Less than a week ago, Mr Musk announced that SpaceX acquired the artificial intelligence company he also leads, xAI, in a deal that values the rocket and satellite company at $US1 trillion ($1.4 trillion) and the artificial intelligence outfit at $US250 billion ($355.7 billion).
Proponents of the move view it as a way for SpaceX to bolster its plans for space-based data centres, which Mr Musk sees as more energy efficient than terrestrial facilities, as the demand for computing power soars with AI development.
Source: ABC News
--Agencies
