Elon Musk Plans to Begin Mars Base Construction Within Five to Seven Years

• February 9, 2026

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has provided an update on the company’s ambitious plans for extraterrestrial colonization, reaffirming the timeline for establishing a human presence on Mars and the Moon. This announcement comes after recent media reports suggested that SpaceX is shifting focus toward lunar projects.

Timeline for Lunar and Mars Colonies

According to Musk, SpaceX aims to construct a city on the Moon in less than ten years. This marks a notable acceleration in efforts to develop sustainable human habitats beyond Earth. Beyond the lunar efforts, Musk stated that building a base on Mars will commence within the next five to seven years, signaling a parallel push for interplanetary colonization.

The plans underline SpaceX’s dual strategy of expanding human activity first on the Moon, then on Mars, leveraging advancements in aerospace technology and space travel capabilities. While Musk has not disclosed specific details on the infrastructure or technology to be employed, the timelines suggest ambitious milestones for the company’s broader vision of humanity’s future in space.

This marks a significant step in SpaceX’s long-term objectives, emphasizing the importance of establishing off-world settlements to explore and potentially inhabit other celestial bodies. While the lunar city could function as a testing ground for technologies and life-support systems critical for longer-duration missions, the Mars base construction reflects Musk’s enduring goal of making humanity a multiplanetary species.

As SpaceX continues to develop more advanced spacecraft and logistics, the space industry will closely watch the company’s progress on these pioneering projects. Details regarding the missions’ scale, funding, and logistics remain to be clarified as the timelines advance.

Elon Musk confirms SpaceX will start building a Mars base in five to seven years, with a lunar city expected within a decade.