SpaceX and Musk shift focus from Mars to building a 'self-growing city' on the Moon

SpaceX, and by extension Elon Musk, has been focusing on building a colony on Mars for many years. Over the weekend, Musk took to the social media platform X to confirm that SpaceX has "already shifted focus," with the new goal being to build a "self-growing city" on the Moon.

Elon Musk believes this goal could be achieved in less than a decade, while the dream of building a colony on Mars is still a 20+ year project. "The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars," Musk wrote, adding that the ability to launch a Lunar mission once every ten days versus once every 26 months for a trip to Mars played a role in the decision.

This ability to "iterate much faster" should result in the creation of a city on the Moon. This pivot from Mars to the Moon represents a major shift for SpaceX; as recently as last year, Musk referred to the Moon as "a distraction," with SpaceX's goal being to head straight to Mars.

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A big part of the mission to Mars has been the ongoing development of Starship, which has experienced numerous setbacks in recent years. Ever the optimist, in 2016 Musk predicted that a Mars landing could be achieved in 2018, a prediction later revised to 2022. Fast-forward to 2026, and Starship's inclusion in NASA's Artemis III mission to send humans back to the moon has pushed the mission to 2028 at the earliest.

Although SpaceX is now focused on putting humans back on the Moon, this doesn't mean Musk's dream of a city on Mars has been cancelled. As part of the announcement, he notes that the Mars mission should be back on the cards in around 5 to 7 years. "The overriding priority is securing the future of civilization, and the Moon is faster," Elon Musk concludes.