The Russian president has praised the entrepreneur’s Mars ambitions and hinted at joint missions
Elon Musk’s passion for Mars is reminiscent of Soviet space engineer Sergey Korolev, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday. Korolev led the USSR’s early space achievements, most notably sending the first human into orbit.
During a discussion with students at Moscow’s Bauman Technical University, Putin highlighted Musk’s commitment to exploring the Red Planet.
“You know, there’s a person who lives in the [United] States, Musk, you could say that he’s absolutely crazy about Mars,” Putin said. He compared the SpaceX CEO’s visionary drive to that of Korolev, the chief engineer behind the Soviet Union’s early space successes, including Yuri Gagarin’s historic 1961 flight.
Putin noted that individuals with such extraordinary dedication are rare but often see their visions realized over time. “Just as the ideas of Korolev, our pioneers, were realized in their time,” he said.
The president highlighted the significant challenges of a crewed mission to Mars. He emphasized the need to address several critical issues, including ensuring the long-term safety of humans in deep space, developing new methods of information transmission, and providing reliable energy sources for future Martian infrastructure.
Last month, Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and Putin’s economic envoy, proposed that Russia could supply a small nuclear power plant and “other advanced technologies” for Musk’s planned Mars mission. He suggested that Russia’s expertise in nuclear technology could support the mission’s energy needs.
Musk has announced plans for SpaceX’s Starship to attempt a Mars flight by the end of 2026, carrying a Tesla humanoid robot named Optimus. He indicated that human landings could begin as early as 2029 if initial landings go well.
Russia has expressed interest in collaborating with the US on Mars exploration. Dmitriev suggested that discussions with Musk could take place soon. He noted that cooperation could involve leveraging the expertise of Roscosmos and Rosatom to make a Mars mission more efficient and safer.
“Shall 2029 be the year of a joint US-Russia mission to Mars, @elonmusk?” Dmitriev wrote on X in March. “Our minds & technology should serve the glory of humanity, not its destruction.”
Despite the conflict in Ukraine and deterioration of US-Russia relations, space collaboration between the two nations has remained largely unaffected. NASA and Roscosmos have continued their partnership and recently extended their cross-flight agreement to the International Space Station (ISS) through 2026.
