Boeing's Rocket to Go to Mars And Retrieve Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster

Being a company the size of Boeing and seeing how a much smaller, start-up scale company the likes of SpaceX beats you at your own game must probably not be a pleasant feeling.

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With much more exposure in the public eye in the field of aviation than in rocketry, Boeing has until now not made a big fuss about its plans to conquer space. Seeing how the race for other planets heats up, and doing so in style, the company decided to take a more visible stance when it comes to its space program.

Boeing is a subcontractor for the Space Launch System (SLS), currently being developed by NASA, a machine expected to be the most powerful rocket ever built. And, according to Dennis Muilenburg, the rocket might even go hunting for a very special prize in outer space.

While speaking at a Politico Space Forum, Muilenburg his company aims at going to Mars too, and it might do so in no more than a decade.

“I certainly anticipate that we’re going to put the first person on Mars during my lifetime, and I’m hopeful that we’ll do it in the next decade,” said Muilenburg according to GeekWire.

“And I’m convinced that the first person that gets to Mars is going to get there on a Boeing rocket.”

Talking about the publicity stunt pulled by Elon Musk when he launched a cherry-red Tesla Roadster into space aboard the Falcon Heavy, Boeing’s exec said his company would not launch cars into space. But, if it finds one along the way, Boeing might consider giving it a lift.

"We might pick up the one that's out there and bring it back," Muilenburg added.

At the beginning of April, Boeing unveiled concepts for the Lunar deep space gateway as well as transport systems for the exploration of the Moon and Mars. Both are probably decades away from becoming a reality. On the other hand, NASA plans to launch the SLS with humans on board in 2022.

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