SpaceX Starship: paving the way to Mars city

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has long had big dreams about building a million-strong city on Mars by 2050. A Martian colony filled with citizens and businesses — where people can create everything from the first space pizza joint to the first iron factory in the cosmos.

Mars city could one day lead to a new nation all together.

Getting there will be half the battle, and the SpaceX Starship rocket is central to the success of these plans. Still under construction, it’s poised to one day ferry Earthlings to Mars.

With the Starship acing its latest test, future trips to Mars seem closer than ever. But revolutionizing space travel and building pizzerias on Mars all come secondary to the ultimate prize of expanding humankind's footprint in the solar system. And according to Elon Musk, Mars City could be the key to our species’ survival.

In this episode of The Abstract, we discuss what the latest Starship rocket test means for the future of space travel — and humanity itself.

Our first story is about the Starship, the SpaceX launch vehicle pivotal to the company’s future transportation plans to fly the ship to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. After completing its first triple-engine test fire, the ship is ready to launch to new heights — bringing human beings closer than ever to the reality of commercial space travel.

In our second story, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk outlines the crucial test that will determine whether his ultimate goal of settlement on Mars can be a success. While technology may soon enable humans to settle on the Red Planet, creating a Martian city that doesn’t rely on Earth remains a challenge — and overcoming that challenge may ultimately save humanity.

Read the original Inverse stories:

• SpaceX Starship: Watch the triple-engine spaceship fire for the first time
• SpaceX Mars city: Elon Musk details 1 test its success depends on

Where to find us:

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• We're hosted and produced by Tanya Bustos

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Right now, facts and science matter more than ever. That's part of the reason for The Abstract, this all-new podcast from the Inverse staff that focuses exclusively on science and innovation. Three new episodes are released a week, and each covers one theme via two related stories. Each features audio of original Inverse reporting, where the facts and context take center stage. It's hosted by the Tanya Bustos of WSJ Podcasts. Because we're Inverse, it's all true but slightly off-kilter. It's made for people who want to know the whole story. —Nick Lucchesi, executive editor, Inverse