SpaceX is building floating 'ports' where people will climb into rockets and go to Mars, Elon Musk reveals
'SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars,' a job posting states
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Elon Musk has revealed that SpaceX is building "spaceports" for rockets travelling between Earth, the moon and Mars.
The SpaceX CEO said that the spacecraft facilities would also be used to launch rockets travelling around the Earth.
"SpaceX is building floating, superheavy-class spaceports for Mars, moon and hypersonic travel around Earth," he tweeted on Tuesday.
He also shared a job posting for an "offshore operations engineer" in Brownsville, Texas, whose duties would include developing rocket launch systems for future missions.
"SpaceX was founded under the belief that a future where humanity is out exploring the stars is fundamentally more exciting than one where we are not," the post states.
"Today SpaceX is actively developing the technologies to make this possible, with the ultimate goal of enabling human life on Mars."
Mr Musk has spoken frequently about his ambition to make humanity a multi-planetary species, claiming that it is integral for our long-term survival.
He has also expressed his desire to travel to Mars within his lifetime, however he recently said that current progress means it may not be possible within such a timeframe.
The 48-year-old tech billionaire announced last week that building the Starship spacecraft, which will one day ferry humans around the solar system, is now the company's "top priority".
In a company-wide email to SpaceX employees, he wrote: "Please consider the top SpaceX priority (apart from anything that could reduce Dragon return risk) to be the Starship."
The stainless steel spacecraft is one of three major SpaceX projects, along with Starlink internet satellites and the Crew Dragon space program, which successfully launched Nasa astronauts up to the International Space Station (ISS) last month.
There have already been several iterations of Starship prototypes, with one recent test ending in a dramatic explosion.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments