Elon Musk shifts SpaceX focus to ‘self-growing’ Moon city over Mars colony

Elon Musk has announced a significant shiftting of objectives for SpaceX, revealing that the company will now prioritise the construction of a "self-growing city" on the moon over its long-held ambitions for a Martian colony.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on 8 February, Musk stated that a lunar settlement could be achieved in less than a decade, whereas a comparable project on Mars would likely take more than 20 years.

"The overriding priority is securing the future of civilisation, and the moon is faster," Musk wrote.

The decision appears to be rooted in the practicalities of orbital mechanics and logistics. Musk noted that while the alignment of Earth and Mars only allows for launch windows every 26 months, with a six-month journey time, SpaceX can launch to the moon every 10 days.

"A trip to the moon takes just two days," Musk explained. "This means we can iterate much faster to complete a moon city than a Mars city."

The shift follows a Wall Street Journal report stating that SpaceX has informed investors of a revised roadmap, which targets March 2027 for the company’s first uncrewed lunar landing.

Despite the change in immediate focus, the SpaceX founder insisted that Mars remains part of the long-term vision. He indicated that the company still intends to "strive to build a Mars city," with preliminary work potentially beginning in the next five to seven years.

However, as recently as last year, Musk had aimed to send an uncrewed mission to Mars by the end of 2026, a target that now appears to have been superseded by the lunar settlement plan.

The announcement comes during a transformative week for the aerospace giant. Days ago, SpaceX confirmed a landmark deal to acquire xAI, the artificial intelligence firm also led by Musk. The merger values the combined rocket and satellite company at an unprecedented $1 trillion.

Analysts suggest the integration of xAI is central to the "self-growing" nature of the proposed lunar city. Musk has previously touted the idea of space-based data centres and autonomous robotic systems that could build and maintain lunar infrastructure with minimal human intervention.