Feb 6 (Reuters) – Elon Musk’s SpaceX told investors it will prioritize going to the moon first and attempt a trip to Mars at a later time, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources.
The company will target March 2027 for a lunar landing without astronauts on board, the report added.
The news comes after SpaceX agreed to acquire xAI in a deal that values the rocket and satellite company at $1 trillion and the artificial intelligence outfit at $250 billion.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Musk said last year that he aimed to send an uncrewed mission to Mars by the end of 2026.
SpaceX is developing its next-generation Starship rocket, a stainless steel behemoth designed to be fully reusable and serve an array of missions including flights to the moon and Mars.
The United States faces intense competition this decade from China in its effort to return astronauts to the moon, where no humans have gone since the final U.S. Apollo mission in 1972.
(Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Mexico City; Editing by Alan Barona and Will Dunham)
