On April 23, 2025, Elon Musk posted on X: “Only 66 years from the first flight to landing on the Moon in 1969. Here we are, 76 years later, and we still haven’t returned to the Moon. We should have been on Mars by now.”
Only 66 years from first flight to landing on the Moon in 1969.
Here we are, 76 years later cannot yet return to the Moon. We should have been on Mars by now. https://t.co/Oo3DhxLrAl
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 23, 2025
This statement reflects his frustration that space exploration has progressed slowly since the 1969 Moon landing.
Musk believes that Moon missions, like NASA’s Artemis program, divert resources from Mars missions, which are his priority.
His company, SpaceX, is working on the Starship rocket to send an uncrewed mission to Mars by 2026 and a crewed mission by 2029.
This view underscores his vision of making humanity a multi-planetary species by establishing a colony on Mars.