SpaceX's President Predicts People will Reach Mars by 2030

The Chief Operating Officer and President of SpaceX, Gwynne Shotwell predicted that by the end of this decade humans will reach Mars. In an interview with CNBC, Gwynne Shotwell said, "We should put people on the surface of Mars within a decade. I think it will be in this decade, yes." She further commented, "I think we need to get a large delivery to the surface of Mars, and then people will start thinking harder about it. I think within five or six years, people will see that this will be a real place to go."

Her predictions resonate with predictions made by SpaceX's CEO, Elon Musk, in the month of December. In an interview, Musk said that he thinks that in the best-case scenario, humans will be on Mars in about five years, while the worst case would be ten years.

The CEO further informed that SpaceX’s biggest challenge was to engineer a vehicle that can optimize tonnage into orbit and then on to Mars: Musk said, "Starship is the most complex and advanced rocket that's ever been made.”