Elon Musk plans to build a city on the Moon in next decade to save mankind

The world’s richest man Elon Musk had planned to put homes on Mars but reckons that could take too long to secure the ‘future of civilisation’

Elon Musk wants to build a city on the Moon within the next 10 years to save mankind. The multi-billionaire said his SpaceX company had planned to populate Mars but that could take ‘20+ years’.

Musk said he did not think he could wait that long to secure ‘the future of civilisation’. He said his focus has shifted away from populating Mars to building a ‘self-growing city’ closer to home.

The world’s richest man insisted he still intends to create a Mars city and that work will start in five to seven years. But he said: “The overriding priority is securing the future of civilisation and the Moon is faster.”

He wrote on his social media network X: “SpaceX has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.

“It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six-month trip time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (two-day trip time).

“This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city. The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars.”

SpaceX has told investors it plans to carry out an uncrewed lunar landing by March 2027.

Musk did not specify what he means by a ‘self-growing’ city but it is understood to be a settlement independent of Earth capable of producing its own power, oxygen, food and industry which will expand over time.

In 2018 he said humans must create a ‘self-sustaining base on Mars’ in case an apocalyptic war broke out on Earth.

Back then he told the SXSW festival that the red planet was ‘far enough away from Earth that it’s more likely to survive than a Moon base’.

But Mars is 140 million miles from Earth while the Moon is about a quarter of a million miles away.

Some experts said the plan was still ambitious as no human has set foot on the Moon in 53 years.

NASA’s Artemis II mission is to take human beings into deep space for the first time since 1972.

Next month it plans to send four astronauts on a 10-day mission to circle the Moon before returning to Earth.

It hopes to put boots back on the Moon with its Artemis III mission by 2028.

The aim is to build a base that will search the soil for water and oxygen that could be used to sustain life and provide fuel for further missions.

SpaceX is building the lander for Artemis III.

Musk reckons moving to another planet will stop humans becoming extinct.

He estimates folk have about 450 million years ‘before it gets so hot that life is impossible’.

The Tesla and Optimus humanoid robot pioneer hopes his reusable Starship mega rockets will make the move economically viable.

He hopes they will cost just £8m-per-launch instead of NASA’s which blast off at £1.6bn-a-time.

Janet Petro, director of the Kennedy Space Center and former acting administrator of the US Space Agency, has said President Donald Trump wants to win the race against China to put humans back on the Moon.

And he wants American astronauts to take the first ever steps on Mars.

”I think this administration really wants to keep America first,” Janet has said.

“And I think the way that we keep America first is by dominating in all the domains of space.”

She said rival nations seeking out new space worlds should expect to be greeted by the Stars and Stripes – showing America had beaten them to it.

“I think we’re going to be putting America first,” she said.

“We’re going to make America proud.

“We’re doing this for the US citizens.”