Elon Musk has signalled a change in SpaceX’s near term priorities. He put a Moon-based settlement ahead of the company’s long-running push to build a city on Mars.
In posts on X, Musk said the Moon offers a tighter development loop. He said missions can fly far more often than Mars transfers.
Elon Musk wrote on X: “It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months.” and “We can launch to the Moon every 10 days.”
Musk estimated a “self growing city” on the Moon could be achieved in less than 10 years. He said a comparable presence on Mars would take 20 years or more.
He said SpaceX still plans to begin serious work on a Mars settlement in about five to seven years. But he called the lunar effort a more urgent stepping stone.
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Elon Musk wrote on X: “The overriding priority is securing the future of civilisation and the Moon is faster”.
The posts were quickly shared across X. Mark Kretschmann described it as a strategic pivot driven by speed. He pointed to the Moon’s shorter travel times and tighter launch cadence as a way to test hardware and logistics faster than a Mars campaign.
ApoStructura shared a broader expansion sequence it attributed to Musk. It started with the Moon before moving on to Mars and deeper into the solar system.
SpaceX has not released detailed engineering plans for a lunar city, and Musk’s timelines have a record of slipping. Still, the new focus on the Moon connects with work already under way.
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NASA has contracted SpaceX to develop a Starship-based Human Landing System for its Artemis program. This includes an uncrewed demonstration flight before astronauts use the lander.
Musk also rejected the idea of using the Moon as a refuelling waypoint for Mars. He said resources such as fuel are limited. He said SpaceX would continue to launch directly from Earth to Mars when windows allow.
