Elon Musk announces plans to get starship on Mars in 5 years

Washington: Starship will fly to Mars in five years, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said, thus confirming his long-time idea to make human life multi-planetary.

"Starship will be on Mars within 5 years," Musk posted on his social media profile.

On Thursday, SpaceX launched its third test flight of the Starship rocket from the Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, with the rocket reaching orbital speed for the first time.

Starship was sending imagery until about 48.5 minutes after the launch, but SpaceX later confirmed it had lost the spacecraft as it attempted a re-entry for a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

The Starship is the centerpiece of SpaceX's efforts to develop a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry humans to the Moon and on long-duration flights to Mars and beyond. The system is designed for in-space refueling and the ability to land at destinations across the solar system and return to Earth.