Musk firmly believes that SpaceX will send people to Mars in 2026

　　US Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) CEO Elon Musk said on December 1 that he remains "highly confident" that Space Exploration Technologies will manned landing on Mars by 2026.

　　Musk said on the same day that this goal "about 6 years from now" can be achieved, "if we are lucky, maybe 4 years."

　　He said: "We plan to launch an unmanned vehicle there in two years."

Musk, founder of the American Space Exploration Technology Corporation.

　　In September 2016, Musk released the blueprint for landing on Mars at the International Astronautical Conference, saying that "if things go super smoothly", manned landing on Mars "may take a 10-year period."

　　He said at the time: "I don't want to say when this will happen, the risk is too great."

　　US Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) reported that the key link in realizing Musk's manned landing on Mars is the production schedule of the Space Exploration Technology Company "Starship" rocket.

According to the design, the "starship" can transport goods and can also transport about 100 people at a time.

　　In February of this year, Space Exploration Technologies was approved to build a R&D and manufacturing plant for the "Starship" project in the Port of Los Angeles, California.

Musk once said that he hoped that the Starship would conduct its first orbital test flight by the end of this year.

　　Unlike the "Falcon 9" rocket or "Falcon Heavy" carrier rocket that can be partially reused, Musk hopes that the "Starship" rocket can be completely reused, similar to a commercial flight.

　　Since Space Exploration Technologies successfully sent NASA astronauts to the International Space Station in May, the "Starship" rocket project has become the company's top priority.

Musk wrote in an internal company email in June this year that the "Starship" rocket project must be accelerated immediately.

　　The space exploration technology company is advancing three projects, including manned "Dragon" spacecraft, "Starlink" and "Starship."

The manned "Dragon" spacecraft and "Starship" projects are designed to fly people into space.

The "Starlink" project will build a global network composed of small satellites to provide high-speed Internet services to the world.

"Starlink" is expected to be composed of approximately 12,000 satellites and will begin to generate free cash flow in 2033.

(Bu Xiaoming) (Xinhua News Agency Special Feature)