Elon Musk gives a timeline for human landings on Mars: 'Starship departs for Mars...'

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has revealed an ambitious timeline for the company's Mars mission, announcing plans to launch the Starship spacecraft to the Red Planet as early as next year.
“Starship departs for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Optimus," Musk stated, referring to the humanoid robot being developed by Tesla. These initial uncrewed missions will serve as critical test flights before any human passengers make the journey.
According to Musk's timeline, if these robotic landings prove successful, human missions to Mars could begin as soon as 2029, though he acknowledged that 2031 is a more realistic target date.
“If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely,” he added.

The announcement comes as SpaceX celebrates its 23rd anniversary on March 14.
“Happy 23rd Anniversary to @SpaceX! Founded on March 14, 2002, and still pushing the limits of what's possible, here's to the next chapter of making life multi-planetary!" Musk replied to a post on X, shared by handle, Teslanomics.

SpaceX's Mars colonization ambitions encountered a hurdle following the explosion of its Starship vehicle during the eighth test flight on March 6. This failure, the second in just two months, highlighted the substantial technical challenges that stand between Elon Musk's timeline and the reality of Mars exploration.
The March test initially showed promise when the Super Heavy booster successfully landed. However, the mission ended in disaster after multiple Raptor engines on the upper stage malfunctioned. The spacecraft began spinning uncontrollably before mission control lost communication approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds after launch.
In response to the setback, Musk offered a brief acknowledgment on social media: "Rockets are hard."