---
title: "SpaceX Has Officially “Put Red Dragon on the Back Burner,” Delaying Mars Expedition"
description: "NASA has confirmed that SpaceX told the agency that their Red Dragon program will not be ready to go to Mars as soon as previously expected."
date: "2017-08-23"
modified: "2017-08-23"
authors:
  - name: "Brad Jones"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/bradj"
url: "https://futurism.com/spacex-has-officially-put-red-dragon-on-the-back-burner-delaying-mars-expedition"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Mars"
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "mars"
  - "NASA"
  - "SpaceX"
---

# SpaceX Has Officially “Put Red Dragon on the Back Burner,” Delaying Mars Expedition

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/20802118724_6f84936ce3_o.0.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: \<a href="http://www.spacex.com/mars" target="\_blank"\>SpaceX\</a\>\</em\>*

[NASA has confirmed](<https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/08/18/spacex-informed-nasa-of-slowdown-in-its-commercial-mars-program/>) that [SpaceX](<http://www.spacex.com/>) is making changes to their previously announced timeline for a manned mission to Mars. Jim Green, head of the agency's planetary science division, acknowledged that NASA had been informed that Red Dragon was being put "on the back burner."

SpaceX was originally planning to [make the journey to Mars](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-just-published-his-plan-to-colonize-mars>) in 2018, with NASA providing assistance with regards to navigation and communications as part of a [Space Act Agreement](<https://www.nasa.gov/partnerships/about.html>) between the two organizations. "We’d agreed to navigate to Mars, get \[Elon Musk\] to the top of the atmosphere, and then it was up to him to land," said Green.

Initially, Red Dragon was expected to use a propulsion landing system to make its controlled descent onto the surface of Mars. However, when SpaceX confirmed in July 2017 that the craft would [no longer have these capabilities](<https://futurism.com/spacex-is-abandoning-plans-for-powered-dragon-landing-elon-musk-announced>), many observers wondered whether the Mars mission might miss its launch date.

![spacex nasa mars elon musk](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/spacex-dragon.jpg>)
*Image Credit: SpaceX*

Back in June, Musk [teased major changes](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-to-reveal-major-changes-to-plans-for-colonizing-mars>) to SpaceX's mission to Mars, noting that updates could arrive [as soon as September](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-sets-september-as-a-target-for-the-next-mission-to-mars-update>), so the expedition likely isn't off the table entirely. What's more, the CEO just [revealed the space suits](<https://futurism.com/elon-musk-just-shared-the-first-photo-of-spacexs-space-suits>) his company is developing for NASA, so that relationship seems to be [as strong as ever](<https://futurism.com/nasa-we-need-companies-like-spacex-for-the-future-of-space-exploration>).

Getting to Mars is no small feat, but even if SpaceX has to amend their course, the Red Planet appears to still be a big priority.