According to Musk, the completion of the lunar city could take less than 10 years, while the first steps towards building a city on Mars are planned for 5–7 years from now. The change in the company's plan is due to the fact that lunar exploration appears to be a more realistic and quicker solution.
Musk believes that the lunar project could develop faster than the Martian one. He noted that flights to Mars are only possible once every 26 months, making the journey long and complicated. Lunar flights, on the other hand, can be organized every 10 days, with a travel time of just 2 days. However, SpaceX is not abandoning its Martian plans, expecting to start construction of a city on the Red Planet in about 5–7 years.
According to information published earlier in The Wall Street Journal, SpaceX aims to conduct the first unmanned Starship landing on the Moon in March 2027. The publication reports that the company will temporarily focus on the lunar program in collaboration with NASA, postponing its Martian ambitions.
