Elon Musk announced that Starship will head to Mars in late 2026 with Tesla bot Optimus. A successful mission could lead to human landings by 2029 or 2031. Meanwhile, SpaceX's Crew Dragon delivered four astronauts to the ISS,

SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Saturday its massive Starship rocket would leave for Mars at the end of 2026 with Tesla humanoid robot Optimus onboard, adding that human landings could follow "as soon as 2029.

“Starship departs for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Optimus. If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely,” Musk said on his X social network.

Elon Musk announced Starship's journey to Mars with a Tesla humanoid bot by the end of 2026. Meanwhile, SpaceX successfully delivered a new crew to the International Space Station in a NASA mission, allowing previously stuck astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to return home after nine months.

Humans have never set foot on Mars, but Musk and SpaceX have set a goal to get over this obstacle by the dawn of the next decade. He took to X yesterday (15 March), to confirm that SpaceX's Starship will be heading to Mars at the end of 2026.

The billionaire says an unmanned mission by his SpaceX "Starship" vehicle will be followed by human landings as early as 2029.

Musk—who has a history of setting unrealized goals for his companies—says he wants to send humans to Mars by 2029, though he says 2031 may be more likely.

Elon Musk has announced that SpaceX's Starship rocket is set to depart for Mars in March 2026. The humanoid robot Optimus will be onboard. SpaceX has scheduled its first Starship rocket flight to Mars for March 2026.