SpaceX founder Elon Musk says humanity could establish a self-sufficient, permanent settlement on Mars by 2055. This ambitious prediction came to the forefront during Musk’s remarks at the recent All-In Summit.

Musk believes we will settle on Mars

According to Musk, the most critical requirement for achieving this goal is the exponential increase in cargo delivered to Mars during the biennial launch windows. A colony on Mars will not only consist of living spaces; all the essential components of a civilization, such as agriculture, fuel production, electronics, and even rockets, will also be transported there.

At the center of this grand vision stands the Starship rocket, developed by SpaceX. Starship, the largest and most powerful rocket ever built, consists of a booster section called Super Heavy and a second stage called Ship.

Both sections are designed to be fully reusable. Both rockets run on liquid oxygen and liquid methane. Because these fuels can be produced on Mars, they are crucial for long-term colonization.

Starship has flown ten integrated flights to date, successfully completing a payload mission for the first time on its latest test. Musk announced that the next test will be the final flight of the Version 2 design, followed by the more radically modified Version 3, equipped with Raptor 3 engines. This new version is said to be capable of carrying over 100 tons of payload into orbit.

Musk stated that the most critical aspect of Starship’s future is making its heat shield fully reusable. Recalling that the Space Shuttle’s shields require months of repair after each flight, Musk emphasized the challenge: “No one has ever built a fully reusable orbital heat shield.”

Despite these challenges, he anticipates that both the Super Heavy and Ship will be captured and reused next year, enabling the launch of hundreds of tons of payloads into orbit.

Musk views the Mars mission not only as an exploration project but also as “insurance” for humanity’s future. According to him, establishing a self-sufficient colony on Mars is essential for the survival of civilization in the event of a potential disaster on Earth.

Starship Version 3 will be approximately 124.4 meters tall, compared to Version 2’s 121 meters. This is the first version of the vehicle capable of flying to Mars. SpaceX hopes to begin its first unmanned test flights to the Red Planet with this vehicle next year. However, Musk also says the final height for Starship could reach 142 meters.