SpaceX Shifts Focus To Self-Growing Moon City, Musk Says Ambition Achievable In Under 10 Years
Tech billionaire Elon Musk has revealed that SpaceX is now prioritizing the creation of a self-growing city on the Moon, aiming to complete the ambitious project in less than a decade.
Musk shared the update on his X account, explaining that lunar missions offer faster development cycles than Mars expeditions. “We can launch to the Moon roughly every 10 days, with a two-day travel time,” Musk noted, “while trips to Mars are limited by planetary alignment and only feasible once every 26 months, with a six-month journey each way.”
According to Musk, this accelerated schedule makes the Moon a more practical first step in establishing permanent human settlements in space. “For those unaware, SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years,” he said.
Despite this lunar pivot, Musk emphasized that SpaceX’s long-term Mars ambitions remain intact. “We will also work to build a Mars city in 5 to 7 years, but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilization, and the Moon allows us to iterate much faster,” he said.
SpaceX’s Mars plans have faced longstanding skepticism, with critics arguing that Musk’s timelines are overly optimistic. His earliest projection, made in 2011, suggested astronauts could reach Mars in “best case, 10 years; worst case, 15–20 years.” In 2016, Musk projected a 2024 mission, contingent on funding and technical readiness.
The renewed lunar focus also aligns with U.S. space policy under the Trump administration, which issued an executive order aiming to return astronauts to the Moon by 2028 under NASA’s Artemis program — a mission for which SpaceX serves as a major contractor. NASA currently targets mid-2027 for the Artemis 3 lunar landing, though multiple delays have pushed the timeline, particularly due to the ongoing development of SpaceX’s lunar lander.
Musk framed the Moon project as a critical step toward extending life and consciousness beyond Earth, saying, “The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars.”
Industry experts view SpaceX’s lunar city plans as audacious but potentially achievable, citing the company’s rapid iteration and reusable rocket technology. If successful, it would mark humanity’s first permanent settlement on another celestial body, potentially transforming space exploration and commerce for decades to come.