Elon Musk said on July 9 on X that SpaceX has shifted its top priority from Mars to the Moon, with a plan to build a self-growing city there in less than 10 years. He said the company’s mission is unchanged — “extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars” — but the order of execution has changed.
Why the Moon now comes before Mars
Musk tied the decision to launch cadence and development speed. He said the Moon offers a launch window roughly every 10 days and can be reached in about 2 days, while Mars missions depend on orbital alignment that comes once every 26 months, with a one-way trip of around 6 months. That gap gives SpaceX a much faster cycle for testing, fixing and refining the systems needed for a permanent off-Earth settlement.
He described the Moon as the fastest route to “ensuring the future of civilization.” Mars has not been removed from the roadmap. Musk said construction of a Mars city is still expected to begin in 5 to 7 years.
Base Alpha points to the lunar south pole
The report said SpaceX has been planning to use Starship as its main transport and habitat vehicle for a permanent base near Shackleton crater at the lunar south pole. The area is seen as attractive because of near-continuous sunlight and the possible presence of water ice, two factors tied to long-term habitation and local resource use.
According to the same report, SpaceX has told investors it will prioritize the lunar program, with a target of completing its first orbital refueling technology demonstration in June 2026, achieving an uncrewed lunar landing in March 2027, and building an initial lunar base before 2028. The timeline was also described as closely aligned with NASA’s Artemis III crewed lunar mission, which has been pushed to mid-2027.
A practical shift from the old 2026 Mars target
The article noted that Musk said in 2020 that SpaceX would achieve a crewed Mars landing in 2026. The current roadmap is clearly different. Based on the details disclosed so far, SpaceX is treating the Moon as a closer proving ground for deep-space construction before applying those lessons to Mars.