The SpaceX Dragon commercial cargo spacecraft is grappled to Canadarm2 at the International Space Station in this NASA picture taken April 20, 2014
The supply capsule brought nearly two-and-a-half tons of supplies and scientific payloads to the station, according to NASA. Reuters

Billionaire Elon Musk announced that his private spaceflight company, SpaceX, is making progress towards the establishment of a permanent colony on Mars. Elon and his company are targetting establishing a permanent colony in Mars by 2020 and seek to make commercial exploration of space possible.

"The reason SpaceX was created was to accelerate development of rocket technology, all for the goal of establishing a self-sustaining, permanent base on Mars," quotes Space.Com of Musk. The remarks were made after the business mogul received the Robert A. Heinlein Memorial Award on Friday during the 33rd annual International Space Development Conference. "And I think we're making some progress in that direction - not as fast as I'd like."

The comments follow successful reusable rocket test by SpaceX in April 18 when a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket was launched in Florida. The reusable rocket then made a vertical "soft landing" into a target in the Atlantic Ocean, before splashing down after the Dragon Capsule delivered supplies to the International Space Station.

The next stage includes attempts for a landing on soil by 2014 and by 2015, reusing a Falcon 9.

"We're close to at least recovering and reusing the first stage," revealed Musk. "I think that if we can demonstrate recovery and reuse of the first stage, that will be really something."

For those who would like to reside in Mars, the ticket to set up camp in Mars would be about $ 500,000.

"There will be those who can afford to go, and those who want to go," Musk said. "I think if we can achieve that intersection, then it will happen ... and, hopefully, it will happen before I'm dead."

Musk, a South African, founded the SpaceX company in 2002 with the objective of revolutionising space technology and facilitating the movement of people and cargo to other planets.