Explainer · SpaceX and Mars
Not before 2028, and cargo first. SpaceX says its first Starship cargo flights to Mars start no earlier than 2028. In February 2026 it put the Moon first, and Elon Musk said SpaceX would begin a Mars city in “about 5 to 7 years”. No crewed Starship flight to Mars has a date.
Updated Sources (9)
A fleet of Starships, refilled in orbit, carrying cargo first and people later. SpaceX says tanker Starships refill a ship in low Earth orbit before it leaves, which lets each ship carry several hundred tonnes of cargo all the way to Mars.[2]
The goal is a self-sufficient city. SpaceX says that will take upwards of one million people and millions of tonnes of cargo, with more than 10 launches a day in the Launch windowA launch window is the stretch of time, about every 26 months, when Earth and Mars line up so a spacecraft can reach Mars using the least fuel.More in the glossary that open about every 26 months.[1] The first people to visit would survey resources, prepare landing sites, set up power and build habitats, SpaceX says.[1]
No earlier than 2028, SpaceX says, and the first flights carry cargo.[1] NASA’s mission design handbook puts the next good window to leave for Mars in late 2028 and early 2029.[9] SpaceX hasn’t named a launch date in it.
Mars comes second for now. Elon Musk said on Feb 8, 2026 that SpaceX had “already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon”, because it can launch there every 10 days, while Earth and Mars line up only every 26 months.[3] He added that SpaceX would begin a Mars city “in about 5 to 7 years”.[3] No crewed Starship flight to Mars has a date.
It has moved back each time. Here is every target in the words of the people who reported it, oldest first.
A first crew as soon as 2025
“could be ready to launch its first crew as soon as 2025”
collectSPACE, on Elon Musk’s talk at the International Astronautical Congress · Elon Musk reveals interplanetary transport system to colonize Mars
An uncrewed Starship at the end of 2026, at even odds
“50 percent chance that his Mars spacecraft will make its first uncrewed voyage to the red planet at the end of 2026”
Al Jazeera, on SpaceX’s video presentation · Musk says 50-50 chance of sending uncrewed Starship to Mars by late 2026
The Moon first
“SpaceX told investors it will prioritize going to the moon first and attempt a trip to Mars at a later time”
Reuters, citing The Wall Street Journal. SpaceX did not comment. · SpaceX delays Mars plans to focus on 2027 moon landing, WSJ reports
A Mars city in about 5 to 7 years
“SpaceX will also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years, but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster”
Elon Musk on X, as quoted by Fox Business · Musk says SpaceX shifting focus to a self-growing city on the Moon before Mars push
Moon landings come next
“We will follow that up with a direct-to-lunar cargo mission, uncrewed. And then -- we want to put boots on the ground, boots on the moon in 2028.”
Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX president, on the company’s earnings call (transcript by The Motley Fool) · SpaceX Q2 2026 earnings call transcript
Cargo to Mars, no earlier than 2028
“Starship cargo flights to the Martian surface for research, development, and exploratory missions start no earlier than 2028, at a rate of $100 million per metric ton”
SpaceX · Mars & Beyond
Above all, refilling in orbit. Starship reached orbit for the first time on Flight 14, on Sep 28, 2026, but no Starship has yet passed propellant to another in space.[8] These are the steps our Starship tracker follows:
Landing is its own test. SpaceX says Starship will hit Mars’s atmosphere at 7.5 km per second and expects harsher conditions on its heat shield than when it comes home to Earth.[1]
$100 million per metric ton, delivered to the Martian surface, for research, development and exploratory missions, SpaceX says.[1]
There’s no date. SpaceX says its first cargo flights to Mars start no earlier than 2028, and no Starship has tried to land on Mars yet.
The Moon. Elon Musk said in February 2026 that SpaceX had shifted its focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, because it can launch there every 10 days, while Mars lines up only every 26 months.
SpaceX’s new first goal: a self-growing city on the Moon. Musk said in February 2026 that SpaceX could “potentially achieve that in less than 10 years”.
About six months, SpaceX says. The trip only works when Earth and Mars line up, about every 26 months.
Up to 100 people on long interplanetary flights, SpaceX says. No Starship has flown with a crew yet.
Because SpaceX designed it to be refilled in orbit and fully reused. SpaceX says refilling in low Earth orbit lets each ship carry several hundred tonnes of cargo all the way to Mars.