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Aircraft and rocket manufacturer Boeing has said that it will land a human on Mars before Elon Musk's SpaceX, according to a report by CNBC.
The bold claim was made by Boeing's CEO Dennis Muilenburg in an interview to CNBC.
Billionaire investor Musk was quick to reply "do it", to a news article posted on Twitter about Boeing's challenge.
Muilenburg said that he believes the company could beat SpaceX in the race.
When asked if Boeing would get a "man on Mars first", Muilenburg said, “Eventually we’re going to go to Mars and I firmly believe the first person that sets foot on Mars will get there on a Boeing rocket”.
Boeing is already developing the Space Launch System (SLS) in collaboration with United States space agency NASA.
The SLS is a Space Shuttle-derived heavy expendable launch vehicle and is meant to replace the space shuttle program. It is also expected to be the most powerful rocket ever built.
Talking about the SLS project, Muilenburg said, “This is a rocket that’s about 36 stories tall, we’re in the final assembly right now, down near New Orleans. And we’re going to take a first test flight in 2019 and we’re going to do a slingshot mission around the moon.”
Musk-led SpaceX is also planning a privately funded manned mission to the 'Red planet'. Musk has earlier also spoken about the possibility of humans colonising Mars.
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