SpaceX has been active as 2017 started. With the long list of plans up until next year, it seems that the Mars mission won't be part of 2018's agenda.
On Feb. 17, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell released an official statement that the Mars mission would be pushed back to 2020, according to The Verge. In the same article, Shotwell further explained the reasons why they moved their Mars mission date. She said that they wanted to focus first on their Falcon projects such as the Falcon 9 which had stunning exposures earlier this year up until the very recent which is last Sunday.
For those who are unaware of the SpaceX's Mars mission, here is some useful information. This mission is actually named the "Red Dragon", pertaining to the color of the planet Mars. The Red Dragon is targeted to study how can scientists from institutions like SpaceX and NASA land heavy equipment on the surface of Mars. Based on previous explorations, it was found out that Mars has a very thin atmosphere compared to Earth, which actually affects the impact of bringing down objects.
NASA scientists have thought of utilizing the Red Dragon for studying Mars through getting soil and rock samples from the planet. However, this speculation wasn't confirmed by both institutions, according to Space. In another interview last year, Elon Musk, SpaceX founder, shared that although the Red Dragon has several promises, SpaceX doesn't recommend it to be used for human missions as further studies are needed before that can transpire.
For space enthusiasts out there, a lot of Mars mission are up for grabs on 2020 aside from SpaceX's Red Dragon mission. Several government agencies such as the NASA and those from the United Arab Emirates and China have expressed their plans for the said target, the red planet.
