Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, has often stated his goal of colonizing the Red Planet as part of his long-held dream of making “life multiplanetary.”
SpaceX Starship debris falls to Earth after rocket ‘disassembly’
SpaceX said it lost contact with its Starship rocket, which Elon Musk’s company said “experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly.”
- In an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters, Elon Musk explained why he’s so set on sending his Starship rocket to colonize Mars.
- The Tesla and SpaceX CEO estimated humanity has 450 million years “before it gets so hot that life is impossible.” But the sun’s entire lifespan will last another 6 billion years.
- That should be plenty of time for Musk and SpaceX to develop the massive Starship rocket, which has yet to reach orbit.
Elon Musk’s interest in sending humans to Mars is no secret − and he has a plan (and vehicle) to do it.
The billionaire founder of SpaceX, who has been thrust into the spotlight for his association with the Trump administration, has often stated his goal of colonizing the Red Planet – part of his long-held dream of making “life multiplanetary.”
But why is the richest man on Earth so obsessed with Mars?
As Musk made clear in an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters that aired Tuesday, May 6, it has to do with ensuring humanity’s longterm survival. You see, sometime in the future – as in, a few billion years from now – the expanding sun that gives our planet life will eventually destroy Earth.
“That’s one of the benefits of Mars, is life insurance for life collectively,” Musk told Watters in the interview. “We do at some point need to be a multiplanet civilization, because Earth will be incinerated.”
Elon Musk tells Fox News: ‘Earth will be destroyed by the sun’
The cosmic destruction of Earth at the hands of our sun won’t happen for a very, very long time. But our imminent doom still apparently preoccupies Musk, who told Watters it’s what is motivating him to seek to create a self-sustaining city on Mars.
When the sun begins to die, it will expand into a red giant star, becoming so large that it will engulf Mercury, Venus and possibly Earth.
“Eventually, all life on Earth will be destroyed by the sun,” Musk told Watters.
Musk estimated in the interview that humanity has about 450 million years “before it gets so hot that life is impossible.” The sun’s entire lifespan, though, will last for another six billion years, according to NASA.
Elon Musk wants SpaceX to send a rocket to Mars
That should be plenty of time for Musk and SpaceX to develop its massive Starship spacecraft, designed specifically with a Martian destination in Mind. The vehicle, composed of both a rocket and crew capsule, has yet to reach orbit in any of its flight tests, which began in 2023.
Musk as recently as March reiterated his desire for his commercial spaceflight company to send the 400-tall launch system vehicle on its inaugural uncrewed trip to Mars as early as 2026. Human trips could follow in the years after, most likely in the early 2030s, Musk has stated.
The tech mogul, who spent more than a quarter-billion dollars to help reelect President Donald Trump in November 2024, has had substantial influence over the administration’s spaceflight agenda. In fact, Trump has at times signaled his support of Musk’s vision of sending humans straight from Earth to Mars.
The plan potentially conflicts with NASA’s goals, as the U.S. space agency has for years been preparing to send astronauts first to the moon and then to Mars under its Artemis campaign. American astronauts have not stepped foot on the moon since 1972 under the Apollo program.
SpaceX rocket launch: What is Starship?
Preparations appear to be underway for SpaceX to launch Starship on its ninth-ever flight test, though the company has not offered a target date.
Photos and video from the company’s X account indicate SpaceX recently performed a “static fire” test of the rocket’s upper stage, igniting one of the vehicle’s six Raptor engines.
SpaceX also recently received key regulatory approval to increase the number of Starship launches to 25 annually from Texas.
Starship launches from SpaceX’s Starbase, the company’s headquarters in Boca Chica. The company town, which voters recently approved to become its own city, is built about 23 miles from Brownsville in Cameron County, Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border.
The vehicle, composed of both a capsule and rocket, is in development and has been undergoing demonstrations since 2023. The first two flight tests of 2025 both ended in dramatic explosions.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com.
