Elon Musk Says Terraforming Mars Could Come ‘Maybe Sooner’ as Pioneer Labs Takes First Step Toward Greening Red Planet

Elon Musk indicated that efforts to terraform Mars could start before the 2030s, following Pioneer Labs' announcement of an engineered bacterium, sPL.001, capable of producing bioplastics from Martian resources. The bacterium can thrive in simulated Martian conditions and could potentially support habitat construction for a small city within four years using local materials. Musk's comments align with his broader vision for human settlement on Mars, with SpaceX targeting cargo flights to the planet as early as 2028.