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While most Americans were transfixed by this year\u2019s Super Bowl proceedings on Sunday night, Elon Musk took to X to proclaim that SpaceX would focus on building out a base on the moon before sending humans to Mars.<\/p>\n
And Musk was careful to couch his announcement in a way that didn\u2019t make it sound like a surprise.<\/p>\n
![\"SpaceX](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/5755152059979a120574365679444f672434bcba.jpeg\")
SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk has shifted focus.AP<\/p>\n
\u201cFor those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years,\u201d Musk wrote in his post.<\/p>\n
On the face of it, Musk\u2019s comment appeared to upend SpaceX\u2019s original mission: to create a self-sustaining human settlement on the Red Planet. It also appears to delay an uncrewed mission to Mars that Musk said the company would conduct this year with SpaceX\u2019s new gargantuan Starship rocket, designed to carry cargo and eventually people to deep space.<\/p>\n
Related Article But the truth is that there was virtually no way that SpaceX would get to Mars this year, certainly with Starship. While Musk made the claim just a year ago, it was always an extremely unrealistic deadline \u2014 even for a man who\u2019s built his reputation and considerable wealth around setting moonshot expectations.<\/p>\n Some of the reasoning is purely planetary. As Musk wrote in his post, Earth and Mars only align once every two years, meaning there was only a narrow window when the company could launch Starship this year to reach the Red Planet. But the giant rocket remains under development, with its path to becoming operational marred by unplanned explosions both in flight and on the ground.<\/p>\n Musk has been signalling since the fall that the moon would become more of a focus for the company, especially as SpaceX turns to the CEO\u2019s latest grand vision: building out massive data centres in space to do complex computing for artificial intelligence, funded by the largest-ever initial public offering.<\/p>\n Musk has hinted at a future where SpaceX could launch data centre satellites from the moon\u2019s surface, and he began talking about plans to build a lunar base \u2014 dubbed Moon Base Alpha.<\/p>\n Even before the data centre discussion got into full swing, the moon was already part of SpaceX\u2019s overall agenda. Starting in 2021, the company has held a contract with NASA, now valued at as much as $US4 billion, to land astronauts on the moon\u2019s surface with the help of Starship for the agency\u2019s Artemis program.<\/p>\n Still, the Red Planet isn\u2019t entirely off the agenda, and Musk said that SpaceX \u201cwill also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years,\u201d according to his post. \u201cBut the overriding priority is securing the future of civilisation and the Moon is faster.\u201d<\/p>\n Even so, Musk\u2019s comments are an about-face from proclamations he made back in January 2025, when he called the moon a \u201cdistraction.\u201d<\/p>\n That statement came right after Donald Trump was reelected US President, and the two men began collaborating closely. Trump had even mentioned sending humans to Mars during some of his early speeches. Since then, however, Musk and the president have lived through a tumultuous relationship, including a public falling out, before reconciling again.<\/p>\n SpaceX rival Blue Origin has also signalled that it\u2019s putting a greater emphasis on its lunar ambitions. The company announced recently that it would be pausing its iconic space tourism flights to space in order to focus on building out a lunar lander for NASA.<\/p>\n Blue Origin holds its own lander contract with the space agency worth $US3.4 billion ($4.8 billion), and the company has the opportunity to potentially beat SpaceX to the moon if it can develop its hardware more quickly.<\/p>\n SpaceX still has significant work to do before the company sends any humans to the either the moon or Mars. SpaceX must perfect numerous new technologies for Starship \u2013 notably the rocket\u2019s ability to refuel while in space \u2013 before it can travel to distant worlds.<\/p>\n So for Musk and SpaceX, the moon may be a faster place to reach, but it\u2019s still far away.<\/p>\n Related Article Bloomberg<\/p>\n Get news and reviews on technology, gadgets and gaming in our Technology newsletter every Friday. Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Adam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ebd3c2662fe68b6c6107edefc93da58bc96a3cec.jpeg\")
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A SpaceX rendering of life on Mars. The company has long had plans to establish a colony on the red planet.NYT<\/p>\n![\"Elon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770680532_27_ea8c620eab78ddc6bbb27ec3bb33abd0e483c98f.jpeg\")
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