Elon Musk renewed his vision of making lunar travel available to "anyone," pointing to SpaceX’s Starship architecture, which aims to deliver up to 100 tons to the Moon via on-orbit refueling. NASA is partnering with SpaceX on a Starship-based Human Landing System for Artemis that includes a roughly 165-foot lander with an elevator for crew and cargo. Musk says lunar missions could launch frequently and transit in about two days, but the NASA inspector general warns Starship faces at least two years of delays and that cryogenic refueling and multiple tanker launches remain major challenges.
Elon Musk Says Moon Travel Should Be Open To ‘Anyone’ As Starship Targets 100-Ton Lunar Deliveries
Elon Musk Wants Moon Travel to Become Something ‘Anyone’ Can Do as Starship Targets 100-Ton Deliveries to the Lunar Surface
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk reiterated his vision of making lunar travel accessible to "anyone," saying the company’s Starship system is being developed to deliver up to 100 tons of cargo to the Moon using on-orbit refueling.
"Moonbase Alpha will be so cool. And we want to make it so that anyone can go to the Moon if they want." — Elon Musk (X, Aug. 11, 2026)
Starship: The Hardware Behind The Ambition
SpaceX says Starship — a fully reusable launch and transfer vehicle — could place large habitats, rovers and construction equipment on the lunar surface if in-orbit propellant transfer succeeds. That capability is central to Musk’s idea of routine, higher-volume lunar logistics rather than one-off missions.
NASA Partnership And Human Landing System
NASA is working with SpaceX on a Starship-based Human Landing System (HLS) for Artemis missions. The agency says the roughly 165-foot lander will include an elevator to move astronauts and cargo between the lunar surface and the orbiting vehicle, enabling safer and more efficient transfers.
Why The Moon — And Why Now
Musk has grown more bullish on the Moon in 2026, arguing that lunar missions could offer faster iteration than Mars: he has said launches to the Moon could occur about every 10 days with roughly two-day transit times, making a "self-growing city" on the Moon a nearer-term objective for securing humanity's future.
Major Technical Hurdles Remain
Significant engineering challenges stand between the concept and reality. The NASA Office of Inspector General reported in March that Starship has experienced at least two years of schedule slippage and highlighted cryogenic propellant transfer in orbit as a major technical obstacle. Reuters has also reported that a crewed lunar mission could require more than 11 tanker launches to fuel a Moon-bound Starship before it departs Earth orbit — a demanding logistics and reliability challenge.
Market Context
Independent rankings cited in the original reporting indicate SpaceX-related stock measures have shown negative short-, medium- and long-term price trends. (Note: original article contained sponsored investment content that has been omitted here to keep focus on the space-technology story.)
Bottom line: Musk’s public statements underline an ambitious, long-term goal to democratize lunar access, but achieving routine 100-ton lunar deliveries will require overcoming substantial technical, operational and schedule hurdles.
Help us improve.
