SpaceX
SpaceX Starship will send Cybertruck and Optimus payload to Mars
SpaceX CEO, Elon Musk said Starship could carry a payload including Cybertruck and Optimus robots to Mars with uncrewed flights.
The rocket maker is testing this new super-heavy launch vehicle to send humans and payload to the Moon, Mars, and Beyond. However, these missions will require immense vehicle stability.
As of today, the company has launched six flight tests and these will continue through next year to complete all objectives to prepare Starship for space travel.
SpaceX is also developing ship-to-ship propellant transfer technology to transfer fuel from one ship to another and send it on a planetary journey.
After Flight 6, SpaceX chief announced sending several uncrewed Starship to Mars in the next years. This timeline is based on the next Earth and Mars closure window, which will bring the two planets closest for a few months.
He said these uncrewed flights could turn into human missions in four years if the prior Starships didn’t create new craters on the red planet.
First Payload
Brett Winton from ArkInvest asked Musk about the first payload with these uncrewed missions and the SpaceX chief replied “Cybertrucks and Optimus robots”.
That’s an interesting answer but not surprising. In 2018, SpaceX sent a Tesla Roadster with a Falcon Heavy rocket into space as a dummy payload.
However, that might not be the case with these two. SpaceX could use Optimus to walk around and explore the planet, of course with some extra optimizations related to the planet exploration.
On the other hand, the Cybertruck with its off-road design could be used to take Optimus to new locations for exploration purposes. Or both of these could be just dummy payloads just like the Roadster.