SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced on Saturday that the company’s Starship rocket would embark on its journey to Mars by the end of 2026, carrying Tesla’s humanoid robot Optimus.

Musk added that, should the initial landings proceed successfully, human missions might begin as soon as 2029, although he considered 2031 to be a more likely target.

“Starship departs for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Optimus. If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely,” Musk stated in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket in the world, is central to Musk’s long-term vision of establishing a human presence on Mars.

NASA is also waiting for a modified version of the spacecraft to serve as a lunar lander for its Artemis program, which is designed to return astronauts to the Moon by the end of this decade.

However, before SpaceX can undertake these ambitious missions, it must demonstrate that Starship is reliable and safe for crewed flights, and capable of conducting complex in-orbit refuelling — a critical requirement for deep space missions.

Earlier this month, SpaceX experienced a setback when its latest test flight of the Starship prototype ended in a fiery explosion.

Despite this, the booster had been successfully caught during its orbital test.

The incident mirrored the outcome of the previous test, with the upper stage tumbling uncontrollably minutes after liftoff and booster separation. The live video feed was abruptly cut before the final outcome was visible.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stated that SpaceX would be required to conduct an investigation into the failure before any future flights could take place.