--- title: "Elon Musk’s New Goal: “Reach the Moon as Fast as Possible”" description: "Elon Musk announced a streamlined version of SpaceX's Raptor engine design that will take Starship to space and beyond as well." date: "2019-02-01" modified: "2019-02-01" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-reach-moon-starship-raptor" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Moon" - "Space" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "raptor engine" - "SpaceX" - "Starship" --- # Elon Musk’s New Goal: “Reach the Moon as Fast as Possible” ![Elon Musk announced a streamlined version of SpaceX's Raptor engine design that will take Starship to space and beyond as well.]() *\Image: SpaceX\* ## To the Moon Elon Musk really wants to get to the Moon – and "as fast as possible," he wrote in a [tweet last night](). The Twitter thread also included [new details]() about SpaceX's Raptor engine, which could boost the spacetech company's [enormous stainless steel Starship]() into space. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1091154222173712384 ## Streamlined Design Conventionally, rockets have used multiple stages, each specialized for flight through Earth's atmosphere or the vacuum of space respectively. SpaceX appears to be streamlining the process with one engine design, according to [*Ars Technica's* analysis]() of Musk's tweet. The approach will have some key advantages, according to *Ars*: it could take significantly less time and money to develop and test the rockets. ## What About Mars? So what about Mars? SpaceX touted Starship as the [ultimate passenger vehicle]() that could ferry people all the way to the Red Planet. So why all the talk about going to the Moon? There's a good chance it has to do with limited budgets. Earlier this year, SpaceX laid off [10 percent of its staff]() as part of a "strategic realignment." After all, launching [thousands of satellites]() and developing giant spaceships is expensive. Besides, SpaceX already [promised a Japanese billionaire]() a trip around the Moon on board the Starship. But Mars isn't out of the question yet. Given enough time and money — and eventually completed trips to the Moon — SpaceX could still make it to Mars. **READ MORE:** [In new Starship details, Musk reveals a more practical approach]() \[*Ars Technica*\] ***More on Starship: [Hurricane-Force Gusts Knocked Over SpaceX's Starship]()*** ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()