SpaceX Mars colonization program

Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, has advocated colonization of Mars at the Mars Society since at least 2001.{{Cite book |last=Zubrin |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Zubrin |title=The Case for Space: How the Revolution in Spaceflight Opens Up a Future of Limitless Possibility |date=14 May 2019 |publisher=Prometheus Books |isbn=978-1-63388-534-9 |location=Amherst, New York |oclc=1053572666}}{{Rp|pages=30–31}}As early as 2007, Musk publicly stated a personal goal of eventually enabling humans to explore and settle on Mars.{{cite news |last=Hoffman |first=Carl |date=2007-05-22 |title=Elon Musk Is Betting His Fortune on a Mission Beyond Earth's Orbit |url=https://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-06/ff_space_musk?currentPage=all |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114052527/http://www.wired.com/science/space/magazine/15-06/ff_space_musk?currentPage=all |archive-date=November 14, 2012 |access-date=2014-03-14 |newspaper=Wired Magazine}} SpaceX has stated that its goal is to colonize Mars to ensure the long-term survival of the human species.{{cite web |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |date=27 September 2016 |title=Elon Musk's Plan: Get Humans to Mars, and Beyond |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/science/elon-musk-spacex-mars-exploration.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160929095051/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/science/elon-musk-spacex-mars-exploration.html |archive-date=29 September 2016 |access-date=27 September 2016 |work=The New York Times}} Since the 2000s and early 2010s, SpaceX has proposed different methods for reaching Mars, including the use of space tugs.

File:SpaceX Dragon Capsule on Mars (18053607180).jpg

Red Dragon was a 2011–2017 mission concept which would have used a modified Dragon 2 spacecraft as a low-cost Mars lander. The Dragon 2 would have been launched on a Falcon Heavy rocket, and would have landed by using its SuperDraco retro-propulsion thrusters.{{cite news |last=David |first=Leonard |date=7 March 2014 |title=Project 'Red Dragon': Mars Sample-Return Mission Could Launch in 2022 with SpaceX Capsule |url=http://www.space.com/24984-spacex-mars-mission-red-dragon.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302085401/https://www.space.com/24984-spacex-mars-mission-red-dragon.html |archive-date=2 March 2021 |access-date=17 March 2025 |work=Space.com}} Equipping the craft with parachutes would not have been possible without significant modifications.{{citation |title=Feasibility of a Dragon-derived Mars lander for scientific and human-precursor investigations |date=October 31, 2011 |url=http://digitalvideo.8m.net/SpaceX/RedDragon/karcz-red_dragon-nac-2011-10-29-1.pdf |access-date=14 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616154043/http://digitalvideo.8m.net/SpaceX/RedDragon/karcz-red_dragon-nac-2011-10-29-1.pdf |archive-date=2012-06-16 |url-status=dead |contribution=Red Dragon |publisher=8m.net}}{{cbignore}}

In 2011, SpaceX planned to use Red Dragon for Discovery Mission #13, which would have been launched in 2022,[http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/06/spacex-dragon-lander-could-land-on-mars.html Spacex Dragon lander could land on Mars with a mission under the NASA Discovery Program cost cap.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110034709/http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2014/06/spacex-dragon-lander-could-land-on-mars.html|date=2016-11-10}} 20 June 2014.{{cite news |last=Wall |first=Mike |date=July 31, 2011 |title='Red Dragon' Mission Mulled as Cheap Search for Mars Life |url=http://www.space.com/12489-nasa-mars-life-private-spaceship-red-dragon.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111201051520/http://www.space.com/12489-nasa-mars-life-private-spaceship-red-dragon.html |archive-date=1 December 2011 |access-date=1 May 2012 |newspaper=SPACE.com}}{{cite web |date=1 November 2011 |title=NASA ADVISORY COUNCIL (NAC) - Science Committee Report |url=https://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2012/01/23/NAC_Science_Meeting_ReportOctober_31-November_1_2011-finalTAGGED.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120203325/http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2012/01/23/NAC_Science_Meeting_ReportOctober_31-November_1_2011-finalTAGGED.pdf |archive-date=20 January 2013 |access-date=1 May 2012 |work=Ames Research Center, NASA}} but the plan was not submitted. Red Dragon was proposed in 2014 as a low-cost way for NASA to obtain a Mars sample return by 2021. The Red Dragon capsule would have been equipped with a system for returning samples gathered on Mars to Earth. NASA did not fund this concept. In 2016, SpaceX planned to launch two Red Dragon vehicles to Mars{{cite news |author=Agamoni Ghosh |date=11 May 2017 |title=Nasa says SpaceX may send two Red Dragon spacecraft to Mars in 2020 in case one fails |url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nasa-says-spacex-may-send-two-red-dragon-spacecraft-mars-2020-case-one-fails-1621053 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518160945/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nasa-says-spacex-may-send-two-red-dragon-spacecraft-mars-2020-case-one-fails-1621053 |archive-date=18 May 2017 |access-date=25 May 2017 |work=International Business Times}} in 2018,{{cite news |last=Davenport |first=Christian |author-link=Christian Davenport |date=2016-06-13 |title=Elon Musk provides new details on his 'mind blowing' mission to Mars |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/06/10/Elon-musk-provides-new-details-on-his-mind-blowing-mission-to-mars/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610202809/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/06/10/elon-musk-provides-new-details-on-his-mind-blowing-mission-to-mars/ |archive-date=2016-06-10 |access-date=2016-06-14 |newspaper=Washington Post}}{{cite news |last=Drake |first=Nadia |author-link=Nadia Drake |date=April 27, 2016 |title=SpaceX Plans to Send Spacecraft to Mars in 2018 |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160427-spacex-mars-red-dragon-china-mission/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919211253/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160427-spacex-mars-red-dragon-china-mission/ |archive-date=2018-09-19 |access-date=2016-04-28 |work=National Geographic News}} with NASA providing technical support instead of funding. In 2017 Red Dragon was cancelled in favor of the much larger Starship spacecraft.{{Cite web |last=Ralph |first=Eric |date=2017-07-19 |title=SpaceX skipping Red Dragon for "vastly bigger ships" on Mars, Musk confirms |url=https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-skipping-red-dragon-vastly-bigger-ships-mars-confirms-musk/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526153614/https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-skipping-red-dragon-vastly-bigger-ships-mars-confirms-musk/ |archive-date=2021-05-26 |access-date=2020-04-15 |website=TESLARATI |language=en-US}}

{{Main|SpaceX Starship}}

File:Interplanetary Transport System (29343823914).jpg approaching Mars]]

The company's current plan was first formally proposed at the 2016 International Astronautical Congress alongside a fully-reusable launch vehicle, the Interplanetary Transport System. Since then, the launch vehicle has been renamed "Starship" and continues in development.

The development program reached several milestones in 2024. On its third test flight it reached its desired trajectory for the first time and on its fourth flight test, both stages of the vehicle achieved controlled splashdown after launch for the first time.

On 7 September 2024, SpaceX announced that it would launch the first uncrewed Starship missions to Mars by 2026 to take advantage of the next Earth-Mars transfer window. It was planned to send five Starships,{{cite web |date=22 September 2024 |title=SpaceX plans to send five uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years, Musk says |url=https://www.reuters.com/science/musk-says-spacex-plans-launch-about-five-uncrewed-starships-mars-two-years-2024-09-22/ |access-date=23 September 2024 |work=Reuters}} and Elon Musk stated on the social media platform X that these missions would focus on testing whether Starships could be reliably landed intact on Mars. If the missions were a success, the company would begin crewed flights to Mars within about four years.{{cite news|title=Musk says SpaceX to launch first uncrewed Starships to Mars in two years |date=7 September 2024 |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/musk-says-spacex-launch-first-uncrewed-starships-mars-two-years-2024-09-07/ |website=Reuters |access-date=8 September 2024}}

On 29 May 2025, Elon Musk provided an update on the SpaceX Mars program in a presentation. He stated that the company aims to target the 2026/27 Mars launch window, depending on the successful demonstration of orbital refuelling capabilities. He estimated a 50% chance of being ready in time for that window. If it is missed, SpaceX plans to attempt the subsequent launch opportunity, with the overall timeline shifting by two years. Musk outlined a launch schedule in the event of a successful 2026/27 mission, including approximately 20 missions during the 2028/29 window, 100 missions during 2030/31, and up to 500 missions by the 2033 launch window.{{Cite web |title=https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1928185351933239641 |url=https://x.com/spacex/status/1928185351933239641 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250603110159/https://x.com/spacex/status/1928185351933239641 |archive-date=2025-06-03 |access-date=2025-06-04 |website=X (formerly Twitter) |language=en}}

{{Further|Space and survival|Life on Mars}}

As early as 2007, Elon Musk stated a personal goal of eventually enabling human exploration and settlement of Mars.

SpaceX has stated its goal is to colonize Mars to ensure the long-term survival of the human species by becoming multiplanetary.

{{Further|Space launch market competition}}

File:Starbase.jpg Starship assembly at its launch facility called Starbase on the Boca Chica (Texas) peninsula in the Rio Grande delta at the Gulf of Mexico]]

In 2014 SpaceX began setting up a facility called Starbase, and later a factory called Starfactory, on the previously populated and wildlife area Boca Chica (Texas) peninsula in the Rio Grande delta at the Gulf of Mexico,{{cite web | last=Reilly | first=Patrick | title=Residents of Elon Musk's 'space city' say he destroyed quiet beach town | website=New York Post | date=2023-02-19 | url=https://nypost.com/2023/02/18/residents-of-musks-texas-space-city-rip-billionaire-for-destroying-quiet-beach-town/ | access-date=2024-07-15}} to build and launch a fully reusable super heavy-lift launch vehicle named Starship. The vehicle's reusability would greatly reduce launch costs, enabling rapid maintenance between flights. {{Cite conference |last1=Inman |first1=Jennifer Ann |last2=Horvath |first2=Thomas J. |last3=Scott |first3=Carey Fulton |date=24 August 2021 |title=SCIFLI Starship Reentry Observation (SSRO) ACO (SpaceX Starship) |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20210020835 |conference=Game Changing Development Annual Program Review 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011134426/https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20210020835 |archive-date=11 October 2021 |access-date=12 October 2021 |url-status=live |work=NASA}}{{Rp|page=2}} It was intended that when Starship became operational, it would be able to travel to Mars carrying human colonists.{{Cite journal |last=Mann |first=Adam |date=20 May 2020 |title=SpaceX now dominates rocket flight, bringing big benefits—and risks—to NASA |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/spacex-now-dominates-rocket-flight-bringing-big-benefits-and-risks-nasa |url-status=live |journal=Science |language=en |doi=10.1126/science.abc9093 |s2cid=219490398 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107024440/https://www.science.org/content/article/spacex-now-dominates-rocket-flight-bringing-big-benefits-and-risks-nasa |archive-date=7 November 2021 |access-date=28 November 2021 |doi-access=|url-access=subscription }} Musk has stated that a Starship orbital launch could eventually cost $2 million, after starting at $10 million within 2–3 years and dropping with time.{{Cite web |last=Duffy |first=Kate |title=Elon Musk says he's 'highly confident' that SpaceX's Starship rocket launches will cost less than $10 million within 2-3 years |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-starship-rocket-update-flight-cost-million-2022-2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119200111/https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-spacex-starship-rocket-update-flight-cost-million-2022-2 |archive-date=January 19, 2024 |access-date=2024-01-12 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}} Starfactory would eventually build Starships at the rate of one per day.{{Cite web |author1=Garofalo |first=Meredith |date=June 8, 2024 |title=SpaceX wants to build 1 Starship megarocket a day with new Starfactory |url=https://www.space.com/spacex-starship-one-a-day-starfactory |access-date=June 10, 2024 |website=Space.com |language=en}}

The rocket consists of a Super Heavy first stage booster and a Starship second stage spacecraft,{{cite web |last=Amos |first=Jonathan |date=6 August 2021 |title=Biggest ever rocket is assembled briefly in Texas |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58120874 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811063944/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-58120874 |archive-date=11 August 2021 |access-date=30 May 2022 |work=BBC News}} powered by Raptor and Raptor Vacuum engines.{{cite web |last=Ryan |first=Jackson |date=21 October 2021 |title=SpaceX Starship Raptor vacuum engine fired for the first time |url=https://www.cnet.com/science/spacex-starship-raptor-vacuum-engine-fired-for-the-first-time/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609051830/https://www.cnet.com/science/spacex-starship-raptor-vacuum-engine-fired-for-the-first-time/ |archive-date=9 June 2022 |access-date=9 June 2022 |website=CNET}} Both stages are made from stainless steel.{{Cite web |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |date=Sep 28, 2019 |title=Elon Musk Sets Out SpaceX Starship's Ambitious Launch Timeline |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/28/science/elon-musk-spacex-starship.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407093459/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/28/science/elon-musk-spacex-starship.html |archive-date=April 7, 2020 |access-date=8 July 2022 |website=The New York Times}} Methane was chosen as fuel for the Raptor engines because it is relatively inexpensive, produces a low amount of soot as compared to other hydrocarbons,{{cite web |last=O'Callaghan |first=Jonathan |date=31 July 2019 |title=The wild physics of Elon Musk's methane-guzzling super-rocket |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/spacex-raptor-engine-starship |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222232043/https://www.wired.co.uk/article/spacex-raptor-engine-starship |archive-date=22 February 2021 |access-date=9 December 2021 |magazine=Wired UK}} and could be created on Mars from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and hydrogen via the Sabatier reaction.{{cite web |last=Sommerlad |first=Joe |date=28 May 2021 |title=Elon Musk reveals Starship progress ahead of first orbital flight of Mars-bound craft |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/space/elon-musk-starship-sn16-mars-b1855721.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823165544/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/space/elon-musk-starship-sn16-mars-b1855721.html |archive-date=23 August 2021 |access-date=4 December 2021 |work=The Independent}} The engine family uses a new metal alloy for the main combustion chamber, enabling it to contain {{cvt|300|bar|psi}} of pressure, the most of all current engines. In the future, it could be mass-produced and cost about $230,000 per engine, or $100 per kilonewton.{{Cite interview |last=Sesnic |first=Trevor |title=Starbase Tour and Interview with Elon Musk |url=https://everydayastronaut.com/starbase-tour-and-interview-with-elon-musk/ |access-date=12 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812114027/https://everydayastronaut.com/starbase-tour-and-interview-with-elon-musk/ |archive-date=12 August 2021 |url-status=live |work=The Everyday Astronaut |date=11 August 2021}}

File:Interplanetary Transport System (29343825184).jpg

Musk has stated that Starship's earliest possible Mars landing{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |date=Sep 28, 2019 |title=Elon Musk Sets Out SpaceX Starship's Ambitious Launch Timeline |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/28/science/elon-musk-spacex-starship.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407093459/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/28/science/elon-musk-spacex-starship.html |archive-date=April 7, 2020 |access-date=8 July 2022 |work=The New York Times}} could have been 2022, and that a crewed mission to Mars would take place no earlier than 2029.{{cite news |last=Torchinsky |first=Rina |date=17 March 2022 |title=Elon Musk hints at a crewed mission to Mars in 2029 |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/03/17/1087167893/elon-musk-mars-2029 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608022151/https://www.npr.org/2022/03/17/1087167893/elon-musk-mars-2029 |archive-date=8 June 2022 |access-date=16 June 2022 |work=NPR }} SpaceX's early missions to Mars will involve small fleets of Starship spacecraft, funded by public–private partnerships.{{Cite web |date=2024-04-16 |title=SpaceX Mars Plans for 1,000 Spaceships to Deliver First Colonists Within 7 to 9 Years |url=https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/spacex-mars-plans-1000-spaceships-deliver-first-colonists-within-7-9-years-1724327 |access-date=2024-04-16 |website=International Business Times UK |language=en}}

SpaceX has stated that it plans to build a crewed base on Mars which it hopes will grow into a self-sufficient colony.[https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-first-mars-bound-bfr-spaceships-martian-habitats/ "SpaceX wants to use the first Mars-bound BFR spaceships as Martian habitats"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109183003/https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-first-mars-bound-bfr-spaceships-martian-habitats/|date=November 9, 2018}}. Eric Ralph, TeslaRati. August 27, 2018.[https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/mars-2024-elon-musk "We're going to Mars by 2024 if Elon Musk has anything to say about it"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203050403/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/mars-2024-elon-musk|date=February 3, 2019}}. Elizabeth Rayne, SyFy Wire. August 15, 2018. Before any people are transported to Mars, a number of cargo missions would be undertaken in order to transport equipment, habitats and supplies.{{cite AV media |last=Shotwell |first=Gwynne |author-link=Gwynne Shotwell |date=2014-03-21 |title=Broadcast 2212: Special Edition, interview with Gwynne Shotwell |medium=audio file |url=http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2212-BWB-2014-03-21.mp3 |access-date=2014-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140322013556/http://archived.thespaceshow.com/shows/2212-BWB-2014-03-21.mp3 |archive-date=March 22, 2014 |format=mp3 |time=29:45–30:40 |publisher=The Space Show |id=2212 |quote=would have to throw a bunch of stuff before you start putting people there. ... It is a transportation system between Earth and Mars. |url-status=dead }} Equipment that would accompany the early groups would include "machines to produce fertilizer, methane and oxygen from Mars' atmospheric nitrogen and carbon dioxide and the planet's subsurface water ice" as well as construction materials to build transparent domes for growing crops.{{cite news |url=http://news.discovery.com/space/alien-life-exoplanets/mars-colony-spacex-121126.htm |title=Huge Mars Colony Eyed by SpaceX Founder |date=2012-12-13 |access-date=2014-03-14 |publisher=Discovery News }}

{{cite news |last=Carroll|first=Rory |title=Elon Musk's mission to Mars |url=http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jul/17/elon-musk-mission-mars-spacex |access-date=2014-02-05 |newspaper=TheGuardian |date=2013-07-17 }} As of September 2024, SpaceX planned to launch five uncrewed Starships to Mars during the next available Earth-Mars transfer window in 2026.

Musk's plans for the first crewed Mars mission state that it will consist of approximately 12 people, with goals to "build and troubleshoot the propellant plant and Mars Base Alpha power system" and establish a "rudimentary base".{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

The company plans to synthesize methane from subsurface water and atmospheric carbon dioxide with the Sabatier reaction so that it can produce enough fuel for return journeys,{{cite web |last=Sommerlad |first=Joe |date=28 May 2021 |title=Elon Musk reveals Starship progress ahead of first orbital flight of Mars-bound craft |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/space/elon-musk-starship-sn16-mars-b1855721.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823165544/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/space/elon-musk-starship-sn16-mars-b1855721.html |archive-date=23 August 2021 |access-date=4 December 2021 |work=The Independent |language=en}} and use similar technologies on Earth to create carbon-neutral propellant.{{Cite news |last=Killelea |first=Eric |date=16 December 2021 |title=Musk looks to Earth's atmosphere as source of rocket fuel |url=https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-rocket-fuel-16707544.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220173105/https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/Elon-Musk-SpaceX-rocket-fuel-16707544.php |archive-date=20 December 2021 |access-date=31 March 2022 |website=San Antonio Express-News |language=en-US}}

File:Occupy Mars (9047414906).jpg

SpaceX hopes to begin sending colonists once infrastructure is established on Mars and launch costs from Earth are reduced. After the first few crewed Mars landings, Musk has suggested that the number of people sent to Mars could be rapidly increased. Musk's timeline for the colonization of Mars involves a first crewed mission as early as 2029 and the development of a self-sustaining colony by 2050.{{Cite web |last=Torchinsky |first=Rina |date=17 March 2022 |title=Elon Musk hints at a crewed mission to Mars in 2029 |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/03/17/1087167893/elon-musk-mars-2029 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220608022151/https://www.npr.org/2022/03/17/1087167893/elon-musk-mars-2029 |archive-date=June 8, 2022 |access-date=25 January 2024 |website=NPR}}

A successful colonization, with a human presence established on Mars, expanding over many decades, would ultimately involve many more economic actors than SpaceX.{{cite news |last=Berger |first=Eric |date=2016-09-28 |title=Musk's Mars moment: Audacity, madness, brilliance—or maybe all three |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/09/musks-mars-moment-audacity-madness-brilliance-or-maybe-all-three/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013144816/http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/09/musks-mars-moment-audacity-madness-brilliance-or-maybe-all-three/ |archive-date=October 13, 2016 |access-date=2016-10-13 |work=Ars Technica}}{{cite news |last=Foust |first=Jeff |date=2016-10-10 |title=Can Elon Musk get to Mars? |url=http://www.spacenewsmag.com/feature/can-elon-musk-get-to-mars/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013071335/http://www.spacenewsmag.com/feature/can-elon-musk-get-to-mars/ |archive-date=October 13, 2016 |access-date=2016-10-12 |work=SpaceNews}}{{cite news |last=Boyle |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Boyle |date=September 27, 2016 |title=SpaceX's Elon Musk makes the big pitch for his decades-long plan to colonize Mars |url=http://www.geekwire.com/2016/spacex-elon-musk-colonize-mars/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003205159/http://www.geekwire.com/2016/spacex-elon-musk-colonize-mars/ |archive-date=October 3, 2016 |access-date=October 3, 2016 |work=GeekWire}} Musk stated in 2024 that being able to make use of local resources on Mars would be essential for establishing a self-sustaining colony, and that SpaceX intended a colony to develop self-sufficiency in "seven to nine years".{{Cite tweet |number=1776669097490776563 |user=SpaceX |date=April 6, 2024 |title=At Starbase, @ElonMusk provided an update on the company's plans to send humanity to Mars, the best destination to begin making life multiplanetary |website=SpaceX}} Current proposals include harvesting CO2 from the atmosphere and splitting into its components. This would involve using O2 as well as CH4 for fuel production, and specifically the O2 in addition to nitrogen (the second-most common gas in the Martian atmosphere) for providing breathable air in the living quarters.{{Cite journal |last=Starr |first=Stanley O. |date=April 25, 2024 |title=Mars in situ resource utilization: a review |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0032063319301618 |access-date=April 25, 2024 |journal=Planetary and Space Science|volume=182 |doi=10.1016/j.pss.2019.104824 |url-access=subscription }}

The program aims to send a million people to Mars using 1000 Starships launched during Mars launch windows, which occur approximately every 26 months.{{Cite web |last=Kooser |first=Amanda |date=16 January 2020 |title=Elon Musk breaks down the Starship numbers for a million-person SpaceX Mars colony |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/elon-musk-drops-details-for-spacexs-million-person-mars-mega-colony/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207024444/https://www.cnet.com/news/elon-musk-drops-details-for-spacexs-million-person-mars-mega-colony/ |archive-date=7 February 2022 |access-date=7 February 2022 |publisher=CNET |language=en}} The journeys would require 80 to 150 days of transit time, averaging approximately 115 days (for the nine synodic periods occurring between 2024 and 2041).{{cite web |date=2016-09-27 |title=Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species |url=http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/mars_presentation.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928040332/http://www.spacex.com/sites/spacex/files/mars_presentation.pdf |archive-date=2016-09-28 |access-date=2016-09-29 |publisher=SpaceX}}

Human colonization of Mars has gained increased interest, both supportive and critical, since the technical achievements of SpaceX's and Elon Musk's rise of popularity in the 2010s, and more so into the 2020s.

File:We bring you Mars (9848295393).jpg Mars at SpaceX Headquarters]]

Some experts like Robert Zubrin support the concept. There is water ice in the form of permafrost and glaciers on Mars, as well as other resources such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen.{{Cite web |last=Zubrin |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Zubrin |date=January 2024 |title=The Case for Colonizing Mars, by Robert Zubrin |url=https://nss.org/the-case-for-colonizing-mars-by-robert-zubrin/ |access-date=25 January 2024 |website=NSS |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126010318/https://nss.org/the-case-for-colonizing-mars-by-robert-zubrin/ |url-status=live }} According to Zubrin, Starship's planned lower launch cost could make space research profitable, allowing major advancements in medicine, computers and material science,{{Rp|pages=47,48}} making mining profitable as well and space-based economy and colonization practical.{{Rp|pages=25, 26}}

Others like Saul Zimet have expressed strong support for the concept, suggesting the possibility that the technological advances that could be developed on Mars will benefit the whole of Earth.{{Cite web |last=Zimet |first=Saul |date=May 28, 2021 |title=What Elon Musk's Critics Get Wrong About Colonizing Mars |url=https://fee.org/articles/what-elon-musk-s-critics-get-wrong-about-colonizing-mars/ |access-date=April 25, 2024 |website=Foundation for Economic Education}}

SpaceX's plans for the colonization of Mars have been criticized on ethical and technical grounds. It has been argued that settling humans on Mars may divert attention from solving problems on Earth that could also become problems on Mars,{{cite web | last=Bharmal | first=Zahaan | title=The case against Mars colonisation | website=the Guardian | date=2018-08-28 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2018/aug/28/the-case-against-mars-colonisation | access-date=2024-09-14}} on the basis that plans about Mars are always about plans we have for Earth.{{cite web | last=Cisneros | first=Isabella | title=The Space Review: The fault in our Mars settlement plans | website=The Space Review | date=2023-08-21 | url=https://www.thespacereview.com/article/4639/1 | access-date=2024-09-14}} Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin, one of SpaceX's competitors in commercial spaceflight, has advocated for moving heaving industry from Earth to Low Earth Orbit as opposed to colonizing Mars.{{cite web | title=Jeff Bezos foresees a trillion people living in millions of space colonies. Here's what he's doing to get the ball rolling. | website=NBC News | date=2019-05-15 | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/jeff-bezos-foresees-trillion-people-living-millions-space-colonies-here-ncna1006036 | access-date=2024-08-06}} SpaceX's support for extraterrestrial settlement has been considered by someone to perpetuate colonialist mentalities.{{cite journal | last1=Young | first1=David | last2=Docherty | first2=Niall | title=An anticipatory regime of multiplanetary life: on SpaceX, Martian colonisation and terrestrial ruin | journal=Science as Culture | date=2024-08-22 | issn=0950-5431 | doi=10.1080/09505431.2024.2393096 | pages=1–26| doi-access=free }} Zahaan Barhmal of The Guardian has argued that the question of the impact of human settlement on Mars has not been comprehensively addressed.

It has been argued that the physical and social consequences of attempting long-term survival on the surface of Mars will need to be addressed. Former U.S. President Barack Obama has said that Mars could be more inhospitable than Earth would be "even after a nuclear war",{{cite web |last=Guenot |first=Marianne |title=Obama takes a shot at the likes of Musk and Bezos, says we must protect Earth before colonizing Mars |website=Business Insider |date=2024-03-14 |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/obama-protect-earth-colonizing-mars-starship-launch-musk-bezos-space-2024-3 |access-date=2024-08-06}} and others have pointed out that planet Earth and underground shelters could still provide better conditions and protection for more people if it were needed. The colonization of Mars has been called a 'dangerous delusion' by Lord Martin Rees, a British cosmologist/astrophysicist and the Astronomer Royal of the United Kingdom.{{Cite web |date=March 15, 2021 |title=Elon Musk's plans for life on Mars are a 'dangerous delusion', says British chief astronomer |url=https://news.sky.com/story/elon-musks-plans-for-life-on-mars-a-dangerous-delusion-12243479 |access-date=August 15, 2024 |website=Sky News}} Musk has stated that staying on Mars would be a life- threatening endeavor that would need to be glorious to be worth it.{{cite web |last=Wattles |first=Jackie |date=December 12, 2023 |title=Colonizing Mars could be dangerous and ridiculously expensive. Elon Musk wants to do it anyway |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/08/tech/spacex-mars-profit-scn/index.html |access-date=August 15, 2024 |website=CNN}} Zahaan Bharmal in the Guardian has additionally argued that exploration of Mars is better left to the already successful robot missions, and that crewed missions would be too expensive, dangerous and boring.

Plans for SpaceX's Mars program have been criticized as far-fetched because of uncertainties about financing, and because they mostly deal with transportation to Mars and not with the business of establishing a functioning colony afterwards. As of July 2019, SpaceX had not explained its plans for the spacecraft's life-support systems and radiation protection, and for making use of resources once the colonists had landed.{{Cite web |last=Grush |first=Loren |date=October 4, 2019 |title=Elon Musk's future Starship updates could use more details on human health and survival |url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/4/20895056/elon-musk-starship-spacex-human-health-life-support-radiation |access-date=August 15, 2024 |website=The Verge}} George Dvorsky writing for Gizmodo characterized Musk's timeline for Martian colonization as "stupendously unreasonable" and "pure delusion".{{Cite web |last=Dvorsky |first=George |date=June 3, 2024 |title=Elon Musk's Plan to Send a Million Colonists to Mars by 2050 Is Pure Delusion |url=https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-mars-colony-delusion-1848839584 |access-date=August 15, 2024 |website=Gizmodo}}

SpaceX intends to base the laws governing a Martian colony on self-determination{{cite web | last=Cuthbertson | first=Anthony | title=Elon Musk's SpaceX says it will 'make its own laws on Mars' | website=The Independent | date=2020-10-28 | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/space/elon-musk-spacex-mars-laws-starlink-b1396023.html | access-date=2024-07-12}} and direct democracy (instead of representative democracy).{{cite journal | last=Wójtowicz | first=Tomasz | last2=Szocik | first2=Konrad | title=Democracy or what? Political system on the planet Mars after its colonization | journal=Technological Forecasting and Social Change | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=166 | year=2021 | issn=0040-1625 | doi=10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120619 | page=120619}} Some of this policy has appeared in the terms and services agreement for individual users of SpaceX's Starlink platform, which state the following: "The parties recognize Mars as a free planet and that no Earth-based government has authority or sovereignty over Martian activities".{{cite web |last=Mosher |first=Dave |date=2020-11-04 |title=2 sentences in Starlink's terms of service show that SpaceX is serious about creating its 'own legal regime' on Mars |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-elon-musk-free-mars-colony-constitution-space-law-legality-2020-10 |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=Business Insider}}

In contrast, internationally agreed space law proclaims space to be the "province of all mankind" and holds that Mars is not available to be claimed as property. Its legal status shares some elements of the legal status of international waters on Earth.{{cite journal | last=Eijk | first=Cristian van | title=Sorry, Elon: Mars is not a legal vacuum – and it's not yours, either | journal=Völkerrechtsblog | date=2020 | publisher=Fachinformationsdienst für internationale und interdisziplinäre Rechtsforschung | doi=10.17176/20210107-183703-0 | url=https://intr2dok.vifa-recht.de/receive/mir_mods_00009795 | access-date=2024-07-12 | page=}} In addition, it is thought that the business of technocratic colonizers trying to accomplish direct-democracy and the legal accommodation of a diverse population will be challenging.{{cite web | last=Hart | first=Thomas E. | title=Jurisdiction on Mars | website= Columbia Library Journals - Science and Technology Law Review| date=2024-03-13 | url=https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/stlr/blog/view/298 | access-date=2024-07-12}}

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