Musk’s company, SpaceX, is preparing to launch five Starship missions to Mars in two years, Musk announced on X on Sunday. None of the missions will have any humans onboard and will be uncrewed. If the missions prove safe and successful, then SpaceX will consider missions to the planet with humans within four years. And if those trips are successful, SpaceX will begin commercial journeys to the Red Planet, Musk said. 

“SpaceX plans to launch about five uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years,” read Musk’s post on X. “If those all land safely, then crewed missions are possible in four years. If we encounter challenges, then the crewed missions will be postponed another two years.”

The SpaceX CEO discussed some challenges involving trips to Mars, including the necessity for the parents to be aligned during each journey. Such a requirement would limit the frequency of the trips to Mars. 

“It is only possible to travel from Earth to Mars every two years, when the planets are aligned,” Musk said. “This increases the difficulty of the task, but also serves to immunize Mars from many catastrophic events on Earth.”

Each mission will be evaluated for success in terms of safety. If everything goes according to plan, Musk envisions a future with significant interplanetary travel between Earth and Mars. However, such trips are a few years down the road, according to Musk. Nevertheless, eventually, this will include “thousands of Starships” transporting people to visit the planet through SpaceX commercial flights. 

“No matter what happens with landing success, SpaceX will increase the number of spaceships traveling to Mars exponentially with every transit opportunity,” Musk’s post noted. “We want to enable anyone who wants to be a space traveler to go to Mars! That means you or your family or friends – anyone who dreams of great adventure.” 

“Eventually, there will be thousands of Starships going to Mars and it will [be] a glorious sight to see! Can you imagine?” Musk said. “Wow.”