AVaughan Posted yesterday at 12:58 AM Share Posted yesterday at 12:58 AM (edited) I could see Elon aiming for a 2026 launch of their first attempt at landing a ship in Mars. Then aiming to send two Starships to Mars in 2028, each with prototype mining/ISRU fuel facilities, with the goal of demonstrating extraction of ice from Mars, and conversion to methane and oxygen, plus methane and oxygen transfer between two Starships, then maybe test fires of Raptor engines (one engine at a time, just to demonstrate that they still work after sitting on Mars for 12+ months). I'm sceptical of them achieving that timeline, but I could see Elon setting it as a goal. After that, them maybe you are ready to send a manned mission to the same site next launch window. (I guess they could be aiming for an ISRU type mission in 2026, but that seems ambitious, even for SpaceX). Of course this is SpaceX, whose stated goal is colonising Mars. So maybe they skip the second mission, and send their first colonists with 2+ years worth of supplies without demonstrating fuel production or a reasonable chance of a successful return to earth. Unless they are aiming for a prototype ISRU type mission in 2026, then this indefinite colonists approach seems like a possible (aspirational) option for them to achieve a 2028 manned landing. Edited yesterday at 12:59 AM by AVaughan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tater Posted 16 hours ago Share Posted 16 hours ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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