Media: Elon Musk's plan to establish a settlement on Mars seems to be temporarily put on hold, with his focus now shifting to the Moon.
Musk stated on February 8 on social media that SpaceX has decided to prioritize building a "self-growing lunar city," which is expected to be achieved within ten years, while in comparison, a Mars settlement may take more than 20 years. He pointed out that a journey to Mars requires waiting for the planetary alignment that occurs every 26 months, whereas a trip to the Moon can be launched every 10 days, taking only two days.
Although Musk said SpaceX still is committed to building a city on Mars and plans to start within 5 to 7 years, his attention to the Moon shows a strategic shift in his space exploration. In addition, SpaceX has secured a contract worth about $3 billion to provide landers for NASA's lunar missions - this will use SpaceX's Starship system, although the system is still under development and has experienced multiple explosions during testing.
This change comes after SpaceX acquired XAI, marking the integration of two ambitious companies under Musk into the world's most valuable private enterprise. At the same time, NASA's Artemis program is also progressing, with a plan to send astronauts to the Moon's surface in 2028.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856639744494788/
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