--- title: "Elon Musk “Highly Confident” SpaceX Will Land Humans on Mars Within 6 Years" description: "Elon Musk announced that he's confident SpaceX will land humans on Mars by 2026, and possibly even sooner. Read more about his statement." date: "2020-12-02" modified: "2020-12-09" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-highly-confident-spacex-will-land-humans-on-mars-within-6-years" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "Mars" - "Space" - "SpaceX" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "mars" - "Starship" - "the digest" --- # Elon Musk “Highly Confident” SpaceX Will Land Humans on Mars Within 6 Years ![SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that he is "highly confident" that his space company will land humans on the Martian surface as soon as 2026.]() *\Image: NASA/SpaceX/Victor Tangermann\* ## Mars 2026 During an interview in Berlin, Germany this week, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he is "highly confident" that his space company will land humans on the Martian surface as soon as 2026, as [*CNBC* reports](). "If we get lucky, maybe four years," he added. "We want to send an uncrewed vehicle there in two years." These ambitious timelines all depend on the company's development of [the Starship](), a massive spacecraft designed to carry up to 100 passengers or 100 tons of cargo between planets. ## Starshipped SpaceX has made significant strides in developing the spacecraft. The company's latest prototype, called SN8, is [set to attempt]() its first test flight to 50,000 feet some time this week. What's still unclear, however, is when the Starship will go orbital for the first time with astronauts on board. In October, [Musk promised]() that "we have a fighting chance of making that second Mars transfer window" during the Mars Society event, referring to when Earth and Mars' orbits align to make the trip most convenient some time in 2024. The first crewed trips on board a Starship will not be for the faint of heart. During the Humans to Mars summit in September, [Musk emphasized]() that the trip will be "a very hard and dangerous and difficult thing," adding that there's a "good chance you'll die." **READ MORE:** [Elon Musk is ‘highly confident’ SpaceX will land humans on Mars by 2026]() \[*CNBC*\] **More on Starship:** *[SpaceX Fires Up Starship Engines Ahead of Miles-High Flight Test]()* ## 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]()