Илон Маск переключил внимание с Марса на быстрое создание города на Луне Translation: Elon Musk Shifts Focus from Mars to Rapidly Building a City on the Moon

SpaceX has shifted its focus towards constructing a «self-sustaining city» on the Moon. According to CEO Elon Musk, the project is expected to be completed in less than ten years.

In contrast, Musk mentioned that the timeline for Mars is significantly longer—over 20 years.

«The mission of SpaceX remains unchanged: to spread consciousness and life, as we know it, among the stars,» the billionaire emphasized.

Musk pointed out that travel to Mars can only occur when the planets align, an event which takes place every 26 months, and that the journey itself takes about six months.

In comparison, trips to the Moon can occur every ten days, with the journey lasting two days. Consequently, establishing a city on Earth’s satellite can be achieved much more swiftly.

The entrepreneur emphasized that SpaceX has not abandoned its plans to build a city on Mars, with the project potentially commencing in 5 to 7 years. However, the primary focus is on «ensuring the future of civilization,» for which the Moon is deemed a more suitable option.

In comments on the publication, users recalled that Musk had promised to send a person to the «Red Planet» within ten years back in 2012.

Since its inception in 2002, Elon Musk has regarded the colonization of Mars as the main goal of SpaceX. At industry conferences and employee events, he has regularly promoted the concept of creating a self-sufficient settlement as a contingency for humanity in the event of a global catastrophe.

In May 2025, Musk announced the first landing of an unmanned Starship on Mars, expected by the end of 2026.

These plans contrasted sharply with NASA’s strategy, which is focused on returning astronauts to the Moon by 2028. Musk has frequently criticized this approach.

The shift in SpaceX’s focus occurred shortly after their merger with X. The new key objective is to establish data processing centers beyond Earth.

«Modern advancements in artificial intelligence rely on large terrestrial data centers, which require massive amounts of energy and cooling. The global demand for electricity is simply unsustainable with terrestrial solutions without harming people and the environment,» he stated.

It is worth noting that in February, SpaceX filed a request with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to launch a constellation of 1 million satellites for data processing centers in orbit.