SpaceX, Boeing and Sierra Nevada are locked in a race to win a US$3 billion contract from NASA for the first human commercial spaceflight to the International Space Station in 2017.

Elon Musk's SpaceX could be the one to beat with the successful launch of its Falcon 9 rocket a week ago. But many still wonder why founder Elon Musk hasn't yet made SpaceX go public.

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Musk said the reason why he hasn't taken SpaceX public is because of the company's long-term goal of building a city on Mars.

Musk has long championed manned missions to Mars but this is the first time he hinted at a Martian colony.

This idea sounds like it was taken from a sci-fi film but Musk has been known to deliver when it comes to space exploration technology and revolutionizing tech industries.

Musk seems to envision a future of space exploration involving Mars as a prime target. He believes humans will visit and live on the Red Planet in 10 years' time, which isn't that far into the future.

In an interview with TV celebrity Steven Colbert, Musk explained that a human colonization of Mars is possible. He also believes human beings can propagate on other planets and become a multi-planet species.

Musk also elaborated on a plan that involves taking a large number of people on cargo missions to Mars after the planet is terraformed into an earthlike habitat livable for humans.

In an interview last year, Musk said his terraforming idea will see greenhouse gases warm up the Martian atmosphere. As the atmosphere gets denser, water vapor will liquefy, creating oceans on the dusty planet.

Musk may be seeing Martian colonies in the near future but SpaceX will have to wait until NASA announces the winner of the contract later this month.

TagsElon Musk Says SpaceX Will Build a City on Mars, Elon Musk, SpaceX, NASA, ISS NASA, Mars Colony, spacex human mars colony, first manned flight to mars, NASA contract