Will be on Mars within 20 years

Space Gateway, a space station project by multiple agencies from which manned missions to Mars could be launched, will be key to the future of human exploration in space.

Peake, who completed his mission on the International Space Station in 2016, said, “We are entering this new era of space exploration which is very, very exciting.

“The Deep Space Gateway will probably start to be built in 2022.

“That’s what I’m really looking forward to because that paves the way for both lunar landings and, because of the orbit it [will be] in, that paves the way for [a] Mars transportation system.

“Humans on Mars — I think will be late 2030s. That’s what the government space agencies and the International Space Exploration Group are working towards.”

But, Peake, who was speaking at an event to raise money for charity Aerobility, said that those pioneering commercial space flight such as Musk could reduce the wait for the first human on Mars.

The entrepreneur’s Falcon Heavy became the most powerful rocket currently in operation after it completed a successful test flight earlier this month, from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Musk chose to load his own Tesla sports car, complete with a dummy in the driver’s seat, on to the rocket and send it into space as part of the launch.

Peake added, “What could throw a big bowling ball through all that is commercial space flight.

“We have seen the ambitions of people like Elon Musk, there are several other companies that also have ambitions to send people to Mars.

“I think that we will end up working very closely with these companies in public-private partnerships when we eventually go to Mars.

“It could be that some of those program bring that date forward. But, late 2030s would be a realistic time frame.”