In a recent announcement, Elon Musk revealed plans to send the SpaceX Starship rocket to Mars by the end of next year, following the spacecraft's ninth test flight, which concluded in an explosion.

The timeline for the Mars mission, however, heavily depends on the successful completion of several critical technical tasks during upcoming testing phases.

Among these tasks is the ability for Starship to perform a fuel replenishment maneuver in Earth's orbit post-launch.

The most opportune period for a Mars launch arises at the end of 2026 when Earth and Mars will align, minimizing the distance between the two planets.

Musk stated that the probability of meeting this launch window is around 50%.

Should the Starship not be ready by that deadline, SpaceX may need to wait an additional two years for the next viable opportunity.

The mission is slated to include one or more Tesla Optimus humanoid robots as part of the crew on the first flight, with plans for a human crewed mission expected to take place in subsequent missions.

Earlier statements by Musk indicated ambitious goals, aiming to dispatch between 1,000 and 2,000 spacecraft to Mars every two years to establish a self-sustaining human colony swiftly.

Originally, Musk had hoped to send an uncrewed mission to Mars as early as 2018, with crewed missions anticipated by 2022. Meanwhile, NASA continues to work on returning humans to the lunar surface with the aid of the Starship rocket, marking over fifty years since the last Apollo mission.

In terms of Mars, NASA is not planning to send astronauts until the 2030s.