NNA - SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced that the company's massive Starship rocket will launch toward Mars in late 2026, carrying Tesla's Optimus robot, indicating the possibility of humans landing on the Red Planet a few years later.

Musk said on his X page: "The Starship rocket will launch toward Mars at the end of next year, carrying the Optimus robot," adding, "If the landing goes well, humans could begin landing on Mars as of 2029, although 2031 is more likely."

Starship, the world's largest rocket, is central to Musk's long-term vision for colonizing Mars.

NASA is also awaiting a modified version of Starship for use as a lunar lander as part of its Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the moon within the current decade.

However, before SpaceX can carry out these missions, it must prove that the vehicle is reliable and safe for carrying crews and capable of completing the complex task of in-orbit refueling—critical for future deep-space missions.

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