After all, she’s grown accustomed to planning her work around the distance to Mars. Our large red neighbour fluctuates in distance from Earth at about 50 million km at its closest orbit ...

"Starship departs for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Optimus. If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely," Musk said on his X ...