【】

Alright, space fans, get ready.

On Tuesday, during a much-heralded speech, SpaceX founder Elon Musk is expected to unveil his company's detailed plans for getting humans to Mars.

Called "Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species," the speech at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Mexico is likely to delve into the technical challenges that SpaceX, national space agencies and rival private companies will need to overcome in order to establish a human settlement on Mars.

"The technical presentation will focus on potential architectures for colonizing the Red Planet that industry, government and the scientific community can collaborate on in the years ahead," the IAC's description of the talk reads.

You can watch the speech live starting at 2:30 p.m. ET in the webcast below:

You can also watch the webcast directly through SpaceX, and the IAC will broadcast the event as well.

Rehabilitating SpaceX's reputation

Musk's speech comes as SpaceX, perhaps the most recognizable private spaceflight company in the world, is attempting to rebound from a high-profile setback earlier this month.

On Sept. 1, one of the company's Falcon 9 rockets exploded on its pad just before an engine test ahead of the expected launch of an Israeli communications satellite. Both the rocket and payload were destroyed, though no injuries were reported as a result of the mishap.

Engineers are still working to track down the root-cause of the accident, and SpaceX launches are currently on hold until that investigation is complete.

SpaceX had an ambitious launch schedule planned for 2016 -- with 18 missions expected to fly to space -- but the accident threw a wrench into those plans.

Musk's speech could be a rallying cry for the company, signaling that it's still at the top of its game and looking to the future in spite of the setback.

Musk's Mars ambitions

Musk has spoken about visiting Mars for years, but Tuesday's speech should be the first time he puts forth a specific plan to get there.

SpaceX has released some details about its Mars plans, saying that the company intends to fly an uncrewed mission to the red planet by 2018, with future missions to follow, setting the groundwork for crewed missions to launch by 2024.

It's important to note that SpaceX has yet to fly actual people to space yet at all, though that could change in the near future. The company holds a contract with NASA to fly astronauts to the International Space Station starting as early as next year.

Tweet may have been deleted

On Monday, Musk pre-empted his speech slightly by releasing new photos of SpaceX's "Raptor" engine, designed to aid in the company's mission to Mars.

Tweet may have been deleted

Musk has long-championed the need for humans to become a multi-planet species, saying that the only way for humanity to survive far into the future is for us to get off this rock and at least make a go at inhabiting another.

"The probable life span of human civilization is much greater if we’re a multi-planet species as opposed to a single-planet species," Musk said in 2015.

"If we’re a single planet species, then eventually there will be some extinction event."

最新评论