In the future SpaceX plans to send to Mars on spacecraft every two years.
According to estimates NASA, SpaceX will spend $320 million to send a Dragon capsule to Mars in 2018 year.
The mission is SpaceX for sending a capsule to the Red planet is called the Red Dragon. According to a representative of Jim Reuter, NASA, space Agency will also contribute to the mission. NASA will provide the company Ilona Mask $32 million. The funds will be transferred not directly. They will go to staff salaries, which SpaceX will provide technical support and to give advice in the preparation of the mission.
SpaceX itself has not yet disclose details on how much it plans to spend on Red Dragon.
The main aim of Red Dragon is to see whether SpaceX can land on the surface of Mars such a heavy camera. In the conditions of the Martian atmosphere is not an easy task. Currently the heaviest machine that NASA put on Mars is the Curiosity Rover. It weighs about a ton, while the Dragon will weigh 8-10 tons.
The Red Dragon launch is scheduled for 2018, but before that SpaceX has yet to solve a number of problems. First of all, the company needs to test a heavy carrier rocket Falcon Heavy, which will deliver a capsule to Mars. SpaceX plans to begin tests later this year.
According to Elon musk, the mission 2018 will be only the first in a series of missions to the red planet. SpaceX plans to send one spacecraft to Mars every 2 years, and by 2024-mu is going to send to the planet person.
