Elon Musk makes big announcement on Mars colonisation following Doge departure

Just one day after announcing his departure from US President Donald Trump’s administration, SpaceX owner Elon Musk has shared further details of his plans to colonise Mars and make humanity “multiplanetary” – and it could happen sooner than you think.

In a presentation shared on Thursday, Musk explained opportunities to travel to Mars come about “every two years” - or every 26 months, to be precise – with the billionaire adding that there is currently a “50/50 chance” that they will meet the next window of November or December 2026.

He said: “We’ve got to figure out orbital refilling, in order to have enough capability to go to Mars, but if we achieve orbital refilling in time, then we will launch the first uncrewed Starship to Mars at the end of next year.”

Orbital refilling – also known as orbital refuelling – concerns supplying additional fuel to a spacecraft while in orbit.

Musk went on to add that the first Starships on Mars will “gather critical data” using an Optimus robot, before humans will be sent in 2028 - “assuming the first missions are successful and they land successfully” – to build the initial infrastructure.

SpaceX then aims to reach “habitat construction” and an increase in “power generation and storage” by 2030-31; and “global communications” (using a version of Starlink) and an increase in “independence from Earth” by 2033.

Musk added that the number of ships heading for Mars will be “dramatically increasing” roughly every two years, with the aim of getting to “1,000 or 2,000 ships per Mars rendezvous”.

He concluded: “This is an incredible thing to have, this amazing city on Mars – the first city on another planet, and a new world.

“It’s also an opportunity … for the Martians to rethink how they want civilisation to be. So you can maybe rethink what kind of form of government do you want, what new rules do you want to have. There’s a lot of freedom of opportunity on Mars to do a recompile on civilisation. We’ll leave it up to the Martians.”

Good lord.

Why not read…

• Musk denies controversial gesture was a 'Nazi salute' and claims every politician has done it
• Is the bromance over? Elon Musk hits out at Trump after being left 'disappointed' by latest move

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.