The Space X aerospace company has scheduled a 2018 test mission to Mars that, under the ambitious plans announced by company head Elon Musk, will become the first step to colonizing the Red Planet.

On Wednesday, the company teased the launch of its "Red Dragon" on Twitter, intended to "inform overall Mars architecture."

A company spokesperson detailed that the major goal of the mission will be to find a safe method of landing large payloads on the surface of Mars, a planet with a very low-density atmosphere, compared with Earth.

Red Dragon, designed for long-range outer space missions, will use an upgraded version of Space X's Dragon cargo spacecraft. The spacecraft will be powered by eight SuperDraco engines that will provide enough propulsive capability for a soft landing on the Martian surface, Ars Technica reported.

Space X will launch the Red Dragon spacecraft atop its Falcon Heavy rocket, a newer version of the Falcon rocket, in has tested recently.

The first Martian mission will be unmanned, but Musk said that piloted flights could become possible by 2020.

The Space X mission, if successful, will be the first interplanetary travel conducted by a commercial enterprise.After the first mission, Space X intends to use the Red Dragon to explore areas space beyond Mars.

Musk has promised to provide details on a hypothetical city to be built on Mars, at the upcoming September 2016 Aeronautical Conference.

Source: Sputnik News