---
title: "SpaceX “Definitely” Plans to Land Starship on Moon by 2022"
description: "SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell claimed that “we definitely want to land it on the Moon before 2022\" with the company's Starship spacecraft."
date: "2019-10-25"
modified: "2019-10-25"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-land-starship-moon-2022"
categories:
  - "Astronomy"
  - "Moon"
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "Starship"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "moon"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# SpaceX “Definitely” Plans to Land Starship on Moon by 2022

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/spacex-starship-moon-2022.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: SpaceX\</em\>*

## Starship 2022

SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell says the spacetech company wants to land its massive Starship spacecraft on the Moon within three years.

"Aspirationally, we want to get Starship to orbit within a year," Shotwell said at this year's International Astronautical Congress in Washington DC, as [quoted by *TechCrunch*](<https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/25/spacex-wants-to-land-starship-on-the-moon-before-2022-then-do-cargo-runs-for-2024-human-landing/>). "We definitely want to land it on the Moon before 2022."

## Luggage Rack

First, SpaceX wants to haul cargo for a Moon base to the lunar surface. Then, if all goes according to plan, it'll send humans.

"We want to stage cargo there to make sure that there are resources for the folks that ultimately land on the moon by 2024," she said.

## Ambitious Deadlines

If the private space company's past is anything to go by, it's an ambitious deadline that arguably has a great chance of being pushed back. CEO Elon Musk himself has built a reputation for setting [overly ambitious timelines](<https://www.space.com/spacex-postpones-starlink-satellite-launch-extra-checks.html>) in the past.

But that doesn't worry Shotwell.

"Frankly, I love when people say we can’t do it," she said, "because it motivates my fantastic 6,500 employees to go do that thing."

**READ MORE:** [SpaceX wants to land Starship on the Moon before 2022, then do cargo runs for 2024 human landing](<https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/25/spacex-wants-to-land-starship-on-the-moon-before-2022-then-do-cargo-runs-for-2024-human-landing/>) \[*TechCrunch*\]

**More on Starship:** [*SpaceX Releases Beautiful Diagrams of Starship, Super Heavy*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-diagrams-starship-super-heavy>)

## 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](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)