Musk plans to send an unmanned "Interstellar Spaceship" to Mars by the end of 2026.

Elon Musk's new large Mars spacecraft, the "Starship", recently had a setback during its latest test flight. Two days later, Musk stated on Thursday that he expects this futuristic spacecraft to make its first unmanned flight to Mars by the end of next year. Musk detailed the development schedule of the "Starship" in a video released by his rocket company SpaceX based in the Los Angeles area. The day before, he also announced his departure from the government led by US President Donald Trump. Musk admitted that the timeline he presented for reaching Mars depends on the "Starship" being able to complete a series of challenging technological feats during its flight testing and development process, especially the refueling operation in Earth orbit after launch. The end of 2026 happens to be a narrow window when Mars and Earth orbit the sun closest to each other every two years, and the spacecraft will take 7 to 9 months to reach Mars. Musk believes his company has a 50% chance of completing the mission within this timeframe. Musk stated in the video that if the "Starship" is not ready by then, SpaceX will wait two more years before attempting again.