By . Victoria Woollaston . People who dream of visiting far flung planets have six years to get saving for a trip to Mars. Billionaire Elon Musk, has announced his SpaceX firm is making ‘progress’ towards establishing a colony on the red planet by 2020, and expects to sell tickets for $500,000 (£296,900) a trip. The comments were made following SpaceX’s successful rocket tests in April. Billionaire Elon Musk, pictured left with Nasa's Charles Boden, has announced his SpaceX firm is making 'progress' towards establishing a colony on the red planet by 2020 - and expects to sell tickets for $500,000 (£296,900) a trip. The comments were made following SpaceX's successful rocket tests in April . Musk wants to help establish a colony of up to . 80,000 people on the planet, but admitted he’d like to start small, . with a group of 10 people, and build the colony from there. He ultimately plans to use a reusable . rocket, fuelled by liquid oxygen and methane, to reach the red planet in six years. It would need to be much heavier than . SpaceX’s current rockets, including the Falcon Heavy that is currently . in development and is expected to launch by the end of this year. Elon Musk has previously said he created SpaceX for the sole reason of developing rocket technology to get people to Mars. He wants to help establish a colony of up to 80,000 people on the planet, but admitted he’d like to start small, with a group of 10 people, and build the colony from there. ‘At Mars, you can start a self-sustaining civilisation and grow it into something really big,’ Musk said. ‘I think we're making some progress in that direction - not as fast as I'd like.’ Musk was speaking to an audience at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London. In April, SpaceX carried out a . successful rocket test during which the firm launched a two-stage Falcon . 9 rocket from Florida, after suffering three previous delays. The . rocket is reusable and it crashed into a target in the Atlantic Ocean . shortly after the Dragon capsule delivered supplies to the International . Space Station (ISS). In April, SpaceX carried out a successful rocket test during which the firm launched a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket from Florida following three previous delays. This illustration shows how a SpaceX capsule might look landing on Mars . Musk ultimately plans to use a reusable rocket fuelled by liquid oxygen and methane to reach the red planet in six years. It would need to be much heavier than SpaceX's current rockets, pictured, including the Falcon Heavy that is currently in development and is expected to launch by the end of this year . SpaceX has a $1.6bn contract with Nasa . for a series of future supply missions and this will be used to test his technology further. Musk ultimately plans to use a reusable rocket fuelled by liquid oxygen and methane to reach the red planet - and he aims to get there three years before the Mars One colony arrive. Mars One was set up by Dutch entrepreneur . Bas Lansdorp who plans to take 40 people to the planet with training . starting in 2018, and the first passengers arriving in 2023. Lansdorp is offering tickets to applicants, rather than selling them. The £4bn project is set to recoup its costs by selling the broadcasting rights to the mission - by comparison, Nasa's rover Curiosity cost £1.8 billion.
Billionaire Musk said his recent rocket test was a step in the right direction .
Musk wants to establish a colony of up to 80,000 people on the red planet .
He is expected to sell tickets for the trip for $500,000 (£296,900) each .
During the test flight, SpaceX also delivered supplies to the International Space Station .
By . Victoria Woollaston . People who dream of visiting far flung planets have six years to get saving for a trip to Mars. Billionaire Elon Musk, has announced his SpaceX firm is making ‘progress’ towards establishing a colony on the red planet by 2020, and expects to sell tickets for $500,000 (£296,900) a trip. The comments were made following SpaceX’s successful rocket tests in April. Billionaire Elon Musk, pictured left with Nasa's Charles Boden, has announced his SpaceX firm is making 'progress' towards establishing a colony on the red planet by 2020 - and expects to sell tickets for $500,000 (£296,900) a trip. The comments were made following SpaceX's successful rocket tests in April . Musk wants to help establish a colony of up to . 80,000 people on the planet, but admitted he’d like to start small, . with a group of 10 people, and build the colony from there. He ultimately plans to use a reusable . rocket, fuelled by liquid oxygen and methane, to reach the red planet in six years. It would need to be much heavier than . SpaceX’s current rockets, including the Falcon Heavy that is currently . in development and is expected to launch by the end of this year. Elon Musk has previously said he created SpaceX for the sole reason of developing rocket technology to get people to Mars. He wants to help establish a colony of up to 80,000 people on the planet, but admitted he’d like to start small, with a group of 10 people, and build the colony from there. ‘At Mars, you can start a self-sustaining civilisation and grow it into something really big,’ Musk said. ‘I think we're making some progress in that direction - not as fast as I'd like.’ Musk was speaking to an audience at the Royal Aeronautical Society in London. In April, SpaceX carried out a . successful rocket test during which the firm launched a two-stage Falcon . 9 rocket from Florida, after suffering three previous delays. The . rocket is reusable and it crashed into a target in the Atlantic Ocean . shortly after the Dragon capsule delivered supplies to the International . Space Station (ISS). In April, SpaceX carried out a successful rocket test during which the firm launched a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket from Florida following three previous delays. This illustration shows how a SpaceX capsule might look landing on Mars . Musk ultimately plans to use a reusable rocket fuelled by liquid oxygen and methane to reach the red planet in six years. It would need to be much heavier than SpaceX's current rockets, pictured, including the Falcon Heavy that is currently in development and is expected to launch by the end of this year . SpaceX has a $1.6bn contract with Nasa . for a series of future supply missions and this will be used to test his technology further. Musk ultimately plans to use a reusable rocket fuelled by liquid oxygen and methane to reach the red planet - and he aims to get there three years before the Mars One colony arrive. Mars One was set up by Dutch entrepreneur . Bas Lansdorp who plans to take 40 people to the planet with training . starting in 2018, and the first passengers arriving in 2023. Lansdorp is offering tickets to applicants, rather than selling them. The £4bn project is set to recoup its costs by selling the broadcasting rights to the mission - by comparison, Nasa's rover Curiosity cost £1.8 billion.
establishing a colony on the red planet by 2020 - and expects to sell tickets for $500,000 April . Musk wants to help establish a colony of development and is expected to launch by the end to help establish a colony of up to 80,000 people Dragon capsule delivered supplies to the International . Space Station (ISS). In April, SpaceX carried out a successful rocket test