No Way Back: Most Mars Colonists Will Remain There Forever

SpaceX founder Elon Musk has shared his plans for creating a self-sustaining society on Mars. After the successful third test flight of Starship last month, the next, fourth flight is already scheduled for May. One of the key goals for testing in 2024 is to attempt to catch the rocket’s first stage during launch.

Musk noted that Mars missions will require six refueling flights for the Starship’s second stage to provide enough fuel. SpaceX plans to catch rockets as soon as it becomes possible to safely land them on virtual platforms in the ocean.

As part of preparations for the Mars mission, landing sites should be chosen at the lowest possible elevations to ensure sufficient atmospheric braking and should be located close to Mars’ equator to maximize solar energy use.

In addition, Musk shared plans to use the Starship’s second stage in 2025 and mentioned testing ship-to-ship fuel transfer next year. Details were also presented about the Raptor 3 engine and new Starship variants, including Starship 3, which will cost less per flight than Falcon 1 thanks to full reusability and a simplified design. This could potentially reduce the cost of reaching orbit to $2 million.

For NASA’s lunar missions, Starship will be equipped with landing legs but will not have valves or a heat shield, making it unsuitable for returning to Earth. Musk believes that most people traveling to Mars will not return to Earth, although the long-term goal of the Starship program is to make such journeys possible.

SpaceX plans to build significantly more ships than boosters, as most ships will be used on Mars for resource extraction. The company is also building new launch towers in Florida and Texas to ensure continuous testing, even in the event of accidents.