After years of ambitious plans to explore Mars, Ilon Musk has suddenly announced that SpaceX is changing its priorities – now the company’s goal is to create a “self-developing city” on the moon, the Wall Street Journal notes.
In doing so, he faces Bezos, who has long been focused on the lunar program of his company Blue Origin and plans to build industrial bases there.
Musk and Bezos have been competing for years to develop reusable rockets, compete for NASA contracts and try to win the public’s imagination – whose ideas about the future of space are bolder. Their choice between the Moon and Mars has long divided the space community into two camps.
Musk’s speed
Previously, it seemed that Musk was in the lead, with SpaceX steadily dominating rocket launches and the deployment of its Starlink network of satellites. A mission to Mars was planned for the near future. Even a year ago, Musk told X that “the Moon is a distraction” and the main focus remains on Mars.
But the situation has changed. SpaceX is preparing for an IPO, and the U.S. political priority is shifting again to getting astronauts back to the moon by 2028. Musk needs a compelling business case for investors, because a living city project on Mars could take decades.
Now Musk is openly talking about Moonbase Alpha, plans to build lunar factories and run AI-powered data centers in space, linking the initiative to his startup xAI.
The task of building a lunar base is extremely difficult, with radiation, drastic temperature changes, and the need to deliver huge amounts of construction materials. Musk claims that the Starship of the future will be able to make up to 10,000 flights a year. By comparison, SpaceX made 165 launches last year, while Blue Origin has only made a few dozen since its founding.
Bezos’ methodicality
Bezos is proceeding slowly but methodically, which has been the subject of Musk’s jokes more than once. “The speed is too slow, and the years of life are not enough,” Musk said of Bezos. The Amazon founder himself is sure: “Slow means accurate, and accurate means fast. We take it one step at a time.”
Meanwhile, Blue Origin is preparing for the first cargo flight to the moon, focusing on a long-term lunar program rather than on tourist suborbital flights.
Musk reacts calmly, “Let something land on the moon before we do. The main thing is to deliver millions of tons of equipment and people to build a city.”
The lunar race has officially begun, and it looks like both billionaires will be willing to do anything to win.
