Elon Musk's shift in course: Mars abandoned for "self-sustaining city" on the Moon

Elon Musk is once again shifting his strategy in space, and this time the stakes do not involve Mars. The billionaire announced that the new priority is the construction of a "self-sustaining city" on the Moon within the next decade. Consequently, the program for Mars is being pushed into the distant future, according to reports from Bloomberg.

Lunar reversal

While a large portion of the American public was watching the Super Bowl, Musk chose X (formerly Twitter) to make the major announcement: SpaceX will now focus on creating a permanent base on the Moon, overturning previous commitments to a rapid colonization of Mars. According to Musk, a "self-sustaining city" on the Moon could appear in less than ten years, whereas a similar endeavor on Mars is estimated to require over twenty years. This shift indicates that initial plans for an unmanned mission to Mars in 2026 were overly optimistic.

The Moon as a platform for artificial intelligence

The new strategy is not limited to the traditional "space race." The goal is not just a base for astronauts, but the creation of large-scale infrastructure for artificial intelligence. The SpaceX plan envisions the Moon as a starting point for space data centers that will process vast amounts of data outside the Earth's atmosphere. Musk has already mentioned the Moon Base Alpha project, a complex that will form the core of future lunar infrastructure. It is expected to host satellite data centers, creating a new "space cloud hosting" industry. Such facilities will support AI systems, reducing the load on Earth's power grids and ensuring scalability.

Background and constraints

The lunar mission did not emerge from nowhere. In 2021, SpaceX received a NASA contract worth up to $4 billion for the Artemis program, committing to transport astronauts to the lunar surface using a modified Starship. Thus, the technological foundation for implementing the new plan had already been laid. Musk is not completely abandoning the dream of Mars; he maintains that the company "will also try to build a city on Mars and start in 5–7 years," but emphasizes that the priority is "securing the future of humanity." In his view, the Moon is a faster and more realistic path to this goal.

Politics, competition, and the Trump factor

Musk's strategy is closely linked to politics. His relationship with Donald Trump has seen periods of conflict as well as rapprochement. Space activity remains a matter of national prestige, while technical difficulties and timelines have forced a reorientation toward the Moon. At the same time, competitor Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin are accelerating their lunar efforts, suspending tourist suborbital flights to develop their own lunar lander for NASA worth $3.4 billion. If Bezos moves faster, he may be the first to establish a permanent presence on the Moon.

Technological challenges

SpaceX must prove that the Starship can refuel in orbit, perform safe manned flights, and operate sustainably in deep space. Without these capabilities, no lunar city—and even less so a colony on Mars—is feasible.

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