Musk ruled out Starship crash impact on Mars colonization plans

The crash of the Starship prototype of the SpaceX aerospace company will not affect plans to colonize Mars. This was stated on January 17 by Ilon Musk, an American entrepreneur and owner of the space technology manufacturer.

"I think I should explain in more detail what the plan to go to Mars is. Any individual [spacecraft] launch is not very important," he wrote on his social network X (former Twitter) page.

What matters, Musk said, is the expected date when "Mars will become a self-sustaining civilization."

Earlier in the day, SpaceX reported the loss of a Starship prototype spacecraft during a test launch. Among the goals of the flight were to return the Super Heavy rocket booster to the launch pad, as well as to conduct a series of experiments with heat shielding and more.

Musk said that the cause of the spacecraft's crash could have been an oxygen or fuel leak that reduced the capacity of the craft's vent.

The American entrepreneur has repeatedly announced plans to colonize Mars. He has repeatedly stated that mankind will be able to survive only if it begins to develop other planets.

In September 2024 Musk said that the first unmanned flights of Starship spacecraft to Mars are planned in two years. He specified: if these landings are successful, the first manned flights will start in four years. In addition, the frequency of flights to Mars will begin to grow exponentially, as the plan is to build a "self-sustaining" city on the planet in the next 20 years, said the billionaire.