Khaberni - The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources, that billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX has informed investors that it will prioritize arriving at the Moon first and attempt a Mars trip later.
The report added that the company aims to land on the Moon's surface in March 2027 without sending astronauts aboard the spacecraft.
This comes after SpaceX agreed to acquire XAI Company in a record deal that merges the rocket and satellite company with the AI chatbot manufacturer Grok. The rocket and satellite company is valued at one trillion dollars, and the AI company at two hundred fifty billion dollars.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Musk said last year that he aims to send an unmanned mission to Mars by the end of 2026.
SpaceX is working on developing the next-generation Starship rocket, a massive stainless-steel rocket designed to be fully reusable and to serve a range of missions including journeys to the Moon and Mars.
The United States faces intense competition this decade from China in its efforts to return astronauts to the Moon, with no human having reached it since the last manned mission of the American Apollo program in 1972.
