New Delhi: SpaceX’s Starship and heavy booster -- the world's biggest and most powerful rocket system -- will launch for Mars by 2026, and human landings on the Red Planet will likely begin in 2031, said billionaire Elon Musk on Saturday. 

In a post shared on social media platform X, SpaceX CEO Musk said Starship will carry Tesla humanoid robot Optimus to Mars. If conditions look suitable for humans, it could start "as soon as 2029."

“Starship departs for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Optimus,” Musk said.

“If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely,” he added.

The Starship -- huge 30-foot-wide, 397-foot-tall rocket -- is key to Musk's long-term vision of colonising Mars. Starship consists of a giant first-stage booster called Super Heavy and a 50-meter upper-stage spacecraft known as Starship.

Musk plans to shift at least one million people to Mars, he shared on X, last year.

"Civilisation only passes the single-planet Great Filter when Mars can survive even if Earth supply ships stop coming," he added. "One day, a trip to Mars will be like a flight across the country”. He also aims to build a base on the Moon.

"Humanity should have a moon base, cities on Mars, and be out there among the stars," the X owner said.

Meanwhile, the Starship faced a setback earlier this month, with SpaceX losing contact with the spacecraft shortly after the launch of the eighth test flight.

About seven minutes after liftoff on March 7, Starship's giant first-stage booster, known as Super Heavy was caught by the Starbase's launch tower, using the structure's "chopstick" arms, called "Mechazilla," on the launch tower.

However, the Starship spacecraft lost altitude control and lost communication with the ground. “Final contact with Starship came approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff,” SpaceX said.

SpaceX had lost contact with Ship even during the Seventh test flight.

To fly the giant Starship again, SpaceX will need clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has sought an investigation.

(IANS)