SpaceX Starship and other programs — is a crewed Mars landing realistic by end of decade?
Scope: Crewed Mars missions — NASA, SpaceX, China
The prospect of a crewed Mars landing by 2030 hinges predominantly on the rapid development and proven reliability of next-generation launch and in-situ resource utilization technologies, primarily spearheaded by SpaceX's Starship program. While government agencies like NASA and China have ambitious long-term plans, their timelines for crewed Mars landings extend beyond 2030, making commercial ventures the primary determinant for achieving this goal within the decade. Significant technical, financial, and political hurdles remain, underscoring the extreme difficulty of this endeavor.