Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 integrated payment processing solutions, took part in the first-ever private spacewalk on September 12. (@SpaceX via X)
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said in a social media post on Sunday that the company plans to launch as many as five unmanned Starship spacecraft to Mars within the next two years, but that his biggest concern is the growing government bureaucracy that is hindering the Starship project.
Musk posted about the future of travel to Mars on X, a social media platform run by one of his companies.
“SpaceX plans to launch five unmanned spacecraft to Mars within the next two years,” he wrote. “If they all land safely, crewed missions would be possible four years later. If they encounter difficulties, crewed missions would be delayed another two years.”
The billionaire entrepreneur explained in his post that traveling from Earth to Mars is only possible when the planets align, which occurs once every two years, making the task that much more difficult.
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Musk also enlightened the world about his vision for a Mars mission that would eventually lead to turning the Red Planet into a tourist destination.
“Regardless of the success of the landing, SpaceX will exponentially increase the number of spacecraft heading to Mars with each pass,” he wrote. “We want to make Mars accessible to anyone who wants to be a space tourist! That means you, your family and friends, anyone who dreams of great adventures.”
“Eventually there will be thousands of spacecraft heading to Mars and it will be an amazing sight. Can you imagine that? It’s incredible,” he added.
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SpaceX’s Starship will begin its fourth test flight in June 2024 from the company’s Boca Chica launch pad near Brownsville, Texas. (SpaceX/Distributed via Reuters)
Fox News has reached out to SpaceX for further comment.
Musk’s vision also includes achieving a sustainable, multi-planetary human settlement before a catastrophe like nuclear war or a supergiant virus strikes on Earth.
Elon Musk predicts SpaceX will send humans to Mars by 2028, and wants to build a “self-sustaining city” on the red planet

Elon Musk (Chesnot/Getty Images/File)
“One of my biggest concerns right now is that the Starship project is being stymied by mountains of government bureaucracy that grow every year,” Musk wrote on X. “This stifling bureaucracy affects every major project in America, like how California spent $7 billion and years on their high speed rail and all that’s left is 1600 feet of concrete!”
Musk, who supports former President Trump’s bid for the next four years as president, said he has many concerns about Vice President Harris becoming president. He pointed out that the “absolute obstacle” for Trump is the “bureaucracy that is currently choking America,” adding that this bureaucracy would surely expand if the next Democratic administration took office.
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“This would destroy the Mars program and destroy humanity,” Musk wrote. “It must not happen.”
Musk said this month that he expects his company to send its first crewed mission to Mars in four years, adding that establishing a sustainable human settlement on the Red Planet within 20 years is not an impossible goal.