SpaceX Mars colonization program

SpaceX Mars colonization program (also referred to as Occupy Mars as a joking reference to the Occupy movement) is the stated long-term objective of the company SpaceX, and particularly of its founder Elon Musk, to send humans to live on Mars. The plan is to establish a self-sustaining, large scale settlement and directly democratic, self-governing colony. The motivation behind this is the belief that colonizing Mars will allow humanity to become multiplanetary, thereby ensuring the long-term survival of the human race if it becomes extinct on Earth.

Colonization is to be achieved with reusable and mass-produced, super heavy-lift launch vehicles, that is Starship. These plans for colonizing Mars have received both praise and criticism. They are supported by public interest in further human involvement beyond Earth and a desire to extend the lifetime of the human race, but skeptics question the technical feasibility, logistical execution, and biological viability of humans living on Mars. In 2026, SpaceX deprioritized its Mars ambitions in order to focus on a lunar base, often referred to as Moon Base Alpha, after Musk previously referred to this endeavour as a distraction in 2025.