Visionary entrepreneur Elon Musk has set an audacious target: a self-developed city on the lunar surface in less than 10 years. This announcement from the SpaceX and Tesla leader comes as part of a broader strategy to make humanity multi-planetary, with Mars following suit in about two decades.
In a detailed X post, Musk broke down the practical advantages of lunar development. Frequent launch opportunities—every 10 days—and short transit times of just two days contrast sharply with Mars’ biennial windows and lengthy voyages. Such efficiency positions the Moon as the launchpad for interstellar expansion.
Upholding SpaceX’s founding ethos of carrying life to the stars, Musk outlined phased plans. Mars uncrewed missions via Starship launch soon, verifying safe arrivals before human flights in four years. The ultimate aim: a thriving, independent city on the red planet within 20 years.
Yet, the Moon remains priority one for rapid civilization insurance. With Starship’s unprecedented power, SpaceX is poised to ferry cargo and crews at scale. Musk’s timeline reflects confidence in iterative successes, from orbital refueling to in-situ resource use, heralding a new era of human spacefaring.