Musk reveals his plans for Mars - reveals when humans could set foot on the Red Planet

SpaceX founder Elon Musk has said his Starship rocket will reach Mars by the end of next year.

"Human landings could begin as early as 2029 if initial missions go well, although 2031 is more likely," he added in a post on X.

It is known that Starship - the largest rocket ever created at 123 meters high - is essential to Musk's ambitions to colonize the planet Mars.

However, it has suffered numerous test failures – one of the missiles exploded minutes after being launched from Texas as part of a test last week, the second failure this year after a similar “unplanned rapid disassembly” in January.

SpaceX said it would review data "to better understand the root cause" of the latest explosion and noted that it occurred after the loss of "several" engines. with the BBC, the Telegraph reports.

Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the company will be required to conduct an investigation before it can fly again.

NASA hopes to use a modified version of the spacecraft as a lander for its Artemis missions to return to the Moon.

And the billionaire has some plans that the rocket system will one day take people to the Moon and then to Mars, making humans "multi-planetary."

Musk has long been aiming for a trip to Mars. In 2016, he said he was planning to send his Dragon spacecraft as early as 2018.

In 2020 he said his company would land humans on Mars six years later.

In 2024, he said he would launch Starship to Mars in 2026, with plans to send crewed flights in four years.

And the Mars mission will carry Tesla's humanoid robot "Optimus," which was unveiled to the public last year. /Telegraph/