Can SpaceX really get a spacecraft to Mars by 2018 ?
Elon Musk’s private space firm is aiming to land a spacecraft on the Red Planet within just two years.
SpaceX has been going from strength to strength lately and now, following the successful landing of its reusable rocket on an ocean barge earlier this month, the company is setting its sights on Mars.
The ambitious plan, which will need to adhere to a very strict timetable, has also intrigued NASA which has pledged to help out where it can based on its own expertise in this area.
Elon Musk originally founded SpaceX 14 years ago with the ultimate goal of colonizing Mars and now it looks as though this dream might soon be taking another significant step forward.
There are even plans to attempt a manned mission by 2025 if the 2018 landing goes well.
Space historian John Logsdon of George Washington University however has advised caution, noting that SpaceX has yet to even successfully launch its Falcon Heavy rocket.
“To think that you can get this all together in two years since two of the key steps have not been demonstrated,” he said while adding that SpaceX “likes to do bravado things.”
Whether the company will be able to land a spacecraft on Mars so soon remains to be seen.
