Elon Musk Vows to Beat NASA to Mars

06-19-2014 • Next News Network

SpaceX founder Elon Musk has stated his team will be able to land humans on Mars between the years 2026 and 2028. This would be almost a decade before NASA plans to set the first human crew on the Red Planet. Assuming SpaceX is able to set humans on Mars in the next 12 to 14 years, several more flights could leave in the decade before NASA astronauts arrive. That would make the government-run mission a redundant program. Musk said, "I'm hopeful that the first people could be taken to Mars in 10 to 12 years, I think it's certainly possible for that to occur. But the thing that matters long term is to have a self-sustaining city on Mars, to make life multiplanetary." SpaceX has developed the Dragon spacecraft and Falcon booster, capable of launching payloads to orbit. They have also started supplying the International Space Station with supplies. However, the company still has challenges to overcome before they are ready to put a crew on Mars. One of the will be designing