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Snapshot 10:Mon, Feb 9, 2026 10:35:36 PM GMT last edited by Anna-Lisa

SpaceX Shifts Focus to Establishing Moon City Within 10 Years

SpaceX Shifts Focus to Establishing Moon City Within 10 Years

Should we prioritize lunar settlement for faster progress or is Mars colonization worth the decades-long wait?
SpaceX Shifts Focus to Establishing Moon City Within 10 Years
Above: The SpaceX logo on a smartphone screen placed on a reflective surface in Creteil on Feb. 3. Image credit: Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The Spin

Musk's pivot from Mars to Moon is merely swapping one billionaire delusion for another. Both destinations remain hostile wastelands. Private space fantasies ignore history's lesson: exploration requires governments' patient capital and long-term vision, not venture capitalists demanding quarterly returns. SpaceX belongs ferrying cargo, not pioneering frontiers it fundamentally cannot afford to lead.

Shifting focus to lunar settlement represents smart strategy over fantasy — launch windows every 10 days versus Mars' 26-month wait means faster iteration and real progress toward expanding civilization. A self-sustaining Moon city achievable in under 10 years beats waiting decades for Mars while still advancing the core mission of extending human consciousness beyond Earth.

Metaculus Prediction

There is a 0.1% chance Elon Musk will personally set foot on the moon by 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


Public Figures


The Controversies



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© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 6.18.0