
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.
Musk, who is also the Tesla CEO, brought out the company's Optimus robots at an event last year.
He said the dancing robots would one day be able to do menial tasks, as well as offer friendship, and expected them to retail for $20,000 to $30,000.
Starship -- the world's largest and most powerful rocket — is key to Musk's long-term vision of colonizing Mars. Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall -- about 100 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty — Starship is designed to eventually be fully reusable.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ