SpaceX Changes Direction

[Yazata]

It isn't just launching a million AI satellites, which I admit sounds a little 'out there'.

They are also changing their initial human spaceflight goal from creating a Mars colony to creating a lunar colony.

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2020640004628742577

Elon says (highlighting by me):

"For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.

The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars.

It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six month trip time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2 day trip time). This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city.

That said, SpaceX will also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years, but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster."

Elon seems be have come around to what many have long advocated: Make more use of Starship's heavy-lift orbital capability (which they propose to do with the AI data centers), and pay more attention to creating a human presence on the Moon, since it's much easier to do there than on Mars.

I do expect that SpaceX will probably be first to land humans on Mars though. (They are the only ones with a plausible Mars architecture currently under development, and not just an artist's conception render.)

The lunar emphasis will also align SpaceX more with NASA and its goal of a sustained human lunar presence. SLS with its cost, payload and launch cadence limitations obviously won't give NASA what it needs. So unless NASA has new and more capable vehicles on the drawing board, it will be up to SpaceX and Blue Origin to make NASA's dreams real. I see roles for both companies.

And it will create a vision that I (the science-fiction nut) have waited all my life to see: when I look up at the Moon at night, I want to see lights up there!

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[Ostronomos]

This was among the predictions of Nostradamus.