SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has set an ambitious target of sending humans to Mars within the next 10 years, as his aerospace firm continues to make strides in its rocket development program. In a tweet responding to a question from one of his followers, Musk said that he is “congenitally optimistic” and believes that it is “highly likely” that the goal will be achieved within a decade.

This bullish outlook follows a successful test fire of the starship prototype’s booster rocket, with 31 out of 33 engines being ignited simultaneously. According to Musk, this would have been the most powerful rocket ever ignited, had all 33 engines been fired up at full power.

In addition to this latest success, SpaceX has also completed a stacked fueling test for the starship, loading both stages of the vehicle with over 10 million pounds of liquid oxygen and methane fuel. The company also ran through some of the countdown procedures that will be needed for the launch day.

However, there is still a significant test that SpaceX needs to carry out before the starship can be launched into orbit. The company needs to conduct a static firing of all 33 of the Super Heavy stage’s Raptor engines, which to date, has never been done before. Once this has been completed, SpaceX can obtain the go-ahead from the Federal Aviation Administration for an orbital test flight.

Despite the fact that the date of the starship’s orbital test flight has been a moving target for much of the past year and a half, there is reason to believe that a launch attempt could happen as early as next month. This was indicated by Musk in a recent tweet, saying that if the remaining tests go well, SpaceX will attempt a starship launch next month.

While the future of space travel is uncertain, Elon Musk’s ambitious goals and SpaceX’s recent successes are a testament to the company’s commitment to making human life multi-planetary. If all goes well, it’s possible that we will see the first human landing on Mars within the next decade, a feat that was once thought impossible.