SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has once more called on the international space community to retire the International Space Station (ISS) and redirect efforts toward Mars human exploration.
In a new tweet last week on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Musk wrote: "It's time to retire the Space Station and focus on Mars."
His comments were in response to a post citing government spending budgets on future space programs, particularly under what's being referred to as the "Big Beautiful Bill."
Originally launched in 1998, the ISS has hosted over 3,000 scientific experiments to date. Yet according to a 2021 Nature Communications paper, research into microgravity on the ISS might be nearing diminishing returns—giving additional weight to Musk's longstanding call to retire the orbiting lab.
In 2022, it was estimated by NASA that it would cost between $3 and $4 billion to continue operating the station for coming years. This financial burden has led to the gradual transition towards engaging private firms like Axiom Space to handle low-Earth orbit duties, keeping funds free to pursue more ambitious missions like trips to Mars.
Musk has already expressed the same opinion. In February, he posted on X: "It is time to start preparing to deorbit the @Space_Station. It has done its job. There is not much incremental value. Let's go to Mars."
In a subsequent post, Musk announced that he planned to propose to President Donald Trump that the ISS be deorbited "as soon as possible."
The billionaire businessman has long been devoted to making human life multi-planetary, frequently emphasizing the need to establish a human settlement on Mars to save mankind from future Earth-based disasters. His business, SpaceX, has taken the lead in technological advancements intended to facilitate such ventures.
Musk's plan is to have robotic landings on Mars proceed uneventfully and then initiate crewed missions as early as 2029. But he also admitted that 2031 could be a reasonable target. "If those landings work well, then human landings can begin as early as 2029, although 2031 is probably more realistic," he said.
As part of his vision for the Red Planet, Musk has proposed the name 'Terminus' for what he hopes will be the first city on Mars—a symbolic start for a new chapter in human civilization.
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