SpaceX to send Starship to Mars next year, Elon Musk confirms

"Starship is the world's most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable," SpaceX writes on its website. In US tons, that is up to 165 tons of fully reusable and up to 275 tons expendable.

Musk has long talked about his dream of sending men to Mars, and recently he was spotted in the White House wearing an "Occupy Mars" shirt.

"I can't think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars," a quote from Musk reads on SpaceX's webpage on its mission of "making humanity multiplanetary."

Musk's announcement of a mission to Mars comes during an exciting week for SpaceX. 

Test pilots Wilmore and Williams launched into space aboard Boeing's Starliner on June 5, 2024, and were scheduled to return to Earth on June 13, 2024. However, thruster failures and helium leaks led NASA and Boeing to leave the astronauts aboard the ISS rather than have them make the risky journey home.