Recommended By Rachel Wolf Fox News Published March 15, 2025 12:43pm EDT close Elon Musk says he will bring the stranded astronauts back home DOGE leader Elon Musk opens up about his work in space on 'Kudlow.' Join Fox News for access to this content You have reached your maximum number of articles. Log in or create an account FREE of charge to continue reading. By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News' Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. Please enter a valid email address. Elon Musk has confirmed that SpaceXs Starship will head to Mars at the end of 2026. The ship will be carrying Optimus, Teslas humanoid robot. The tech billionaire said that if all goes well, humans could be on the red planet by 2029, although he admitted that 2031 is more likely. NASAs Perseverance Mars rover used its dual-camera Mastcam-Z imager to capture this image of "Santa Cruz," a hill within Jezero Crater, on April 29, 2021, the 68th Martian day, or sol, of the mission. (Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)SPACEX LAUNCH SCRUBBED HOURS AFTER HEGSETH SHARES MESSAGE TO RESCUE MISSION CREWThe X account for Optimus replied to Musks announcement with just two words: "Hold on.""Starship is the worlds most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable," SpaceX writes on its website. In US tons, that is up to 165 tons of fully reusable and up to 275 tons expendable.Musk has long talked about his dream of sending men to Mars, and recently he was spotted in the White House wearing an "Occupy Mars" shirt. Billionaire Elon Musk spoke to podcaster Joe Rogan about the future of the X platform under either future President Kamala Harris or future President Donald Trump. (The Joe Rogan experience.)FORMER ASTRONAUT CELEBRATES SPACEXS IMPRESSIVE TECHNOLOGICAL TOUR DE FORCE"I cant think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars," a quote from Musk reads on SpaceXs webpage on its mission of "making humanity multiplanetary."Musks announcement of a mission to Mars comes during an exciting week for SpaceX. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasts off from the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Friday, March 14, 2025. (SpaceX/NASA)On Friday, SpaceX and NASA launched a crew headed for the International Space Station (ISS) with astronauts who will replace Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been stuck in space for nine months.Test pilots Wilmore and Williams launched into space aboard Boeings Starliner on June 5, 2024, and were scheduled to return to Earth on June 13, 2024. However, thruster failures and helium leaks led NASA and Boeing to leave the astronauts aboard the ISS rather than have them make the risky journey home. Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.