Elon Musk sets out ambitious plans for Mars travel

SpaceX owner Elon Musk plans to put humans on Mars in six years as the businessman outlined his vision for the future of space travel at the International Astronautical Congress in Mexico on Tuesday.

Musk, who also owns carmaker Tesla and solar energy firm SolarCity, said that he wants to make interplanetary travel available for everyone to afford.

In order make his ambition a reality, Musk put forward a launch and transport system with multiple stages, including a reusable booster similar to the Falcon 9, which SpaceX has already successfully tested.

Speaking at the conference in Guadalajara, Musk said that the original cost would begin at $200,000, but he hopes to drive that down to make it more affordable.

"It will be a challenge to fund this whole endeavour," said Musk. "As we show that this dream is not just a dream but can be made real, the support will snowball over time."

Privately-owned SpaceX hit a stumbling block in their space exploration plans as one of its unmanned rockets exploded in Cape Canaveral, Florida, last month.

How such adventurous missions would be funded is a question that Musk and SpaceX have yet to answer, but he pledged to invest some of his personal fortune in the pursuit.

"The reason I am personally accruing assets is to fund this. I really have no other purpose than to make life interplanetary," Musk claimed.