Elon Musk says SpaceX will send its multi-billion-dollar Starship rocket to Mars in just TWO YEARS - despite explosive launch tests

Even though it's only just got to space and back, Elon Musk thinks he can send his Starship rocket to Mars in just two years' time. 

On X (Twitter), the SpaceX founder has said the uncrewed missions to Mars in 2026 will 'test the reliability of landing intact' on the red planet. 

Two years after that in 2028, Starship will transport people to Mars for the first time – which would mark the first time humans have ever walked on another planet.

Starship – the largest and most powerful rocket ever built – has had explosive launch tests in the last couple of years.

In fact, it has only just mastered getting up to space and coming back down in one piece – so it's worth taking Musk's new timeline with a pinch of salt. 

According to Musk, his company will manufacture multiple Starships – eventually leading to a fleet comprising more than 100 of the 165-foot vessels. 

The billionaire founder said in his X post that the first Starships will launch to Mars in two years when 'the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens'. 

This refers to a period approximately every 26 months when the two planets are most closely aligned in their orbit and the distance between them is less.

Musk said: 'Flight rate will grow exponentially from there, with the goal of building a self-sustaining city in about 20 years.'

Ultimately, Musk wants to make humans a 'multiplanetary' species – meaning we live on several planets, not just Earth. 

He added: 'Being multiplanetary will vastly increase the probable lifespan of consciousness, as we will no longer have all our eggs, literally and metabolically, on one planet.' 

In another tweet, Musk reaffirmed that humans are only going to Mars after the initial landings of 2026 'are proven to be reliable'. 

He added: '4 years is best case for humans, might be 6, hopefully not 8.' 

Musk has a habit of making outlandish promises that don't come to fruition, often involving ambitious timeframes that come all too soon. 

Back in 2017, Musk said SpaceX would launch its first Mars cargo missions in 2022 and the first crews to the planet in 2024. 

But now he may be especially hopeful after Starship reached space and successfully landed back down on Earth in June. 

Musk called it an 'epic achievement' after Starship soared 130 miles above the surface and making a soft landing in the Indian Ocean as planned. 

Back in March, Starship managed to reach space but broke up spectacularly while reentering Earth's atmosphere.  

This was preceded by two failed launches in 2023, the first of which ended in an explosion over the Gulf of Mexico in April.

It was supposed to travel 90 miles above ground for 90 minutes, but shortly after the Super Heavy booster detached, Starship exploded over the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Texas about four minutes into the mission.

Then in November 2023, SpaceX made its second launch attempt but it failed about eight minutes into the test mission when it reached an altitude of 91 miles above the Earth’s surface before exploding.

The multi-billion-dollar, stainless-steel, 395-foot vessel has been designed to transport crew and cargo to Earth's orbit, the moon and other planets. 

It's due to land four astronauts on the moon as part of NASA's Artemis 3 mission in 2026 – the first manned trip to the lunar surface since 1972.