'Less than 10 years': Elon Musk says SpaceX shifts focus to Moon city
Elon Musk (photo: Getty Images)
SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk announced plans to build a city-colony on the Moon. The development of the new settlement will take less than 10 years, Musk wrote.
Read also: Elon Musk addresses Ukrainians on Starlink use
"For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years," Musk said.
He also emphasized that SpaceX's mission remains unchanged: to spread consciousness and life in an Earth-based sense to the stars.
According to him, traveling to Mars is only possible when planets align every 26 months, while spacecraft can be launched to the Moon every 10 days.
In addition, travel time to Earth's satellite is two days rather than six months. This means scientists can complete the construction of a city on the Moon much faster than on Mars.
Nevertheless, SpaceX also aims to build a city on Mars and will begin implementing this plan in five to seven years.
In August, the Starship rocket developed by SpaceX for interplanetary travel reached space for the first time and deployed satellites after a year of failed launches and explosions.
Promoted as the largest and most powerful rocket in history, Starship is a key element of the company's plans to launch large batches of Starlink satellites into Earth orbit and to transport people to the Moon and Mars in the future.
Earlier, Musk said SpaceX plans to land its Starship rockets on the surface of Mars "well before" 2030. Musk also intends to fly Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa to the Moon aboard Starship.
