Entrepreneur Elon Musk unveiled his latest plans for a new space rocket on Friday that he says will see humans land on Mars by 2022. Photo: Getty Images

Speaking to a packed auditorium in South Australia, Musk revealed designs for the code-named BFR rocket -- a 100-metre-tall space ship that is understood to cost less and have more launch power than anything the billionaire's space transport manufacturer body, SpaceX, has ever worked on before.

Further to that, he also said he believes he's found a way of funding such an optimistic venture -- by reusing the resources put into previous rocket ventures for this new plan.

"It is to have a smaller vehicle, still pretty big, but one that can serve -- one that can do everything that is needed in the greater Earth orbit activity," he said in a keynote presentation speech.

"Essentially, we want to make our current vehicles redundant. We want to have one system, one booster ship that replaces [previously planned SpaceX rockets] Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Dragon.

"If we can do that, then all the resources that are used for Falcon 9 Heavy and Dragon can be applied to this system so that is fundamental."

Musk also said the BFR, which is expected to start being constructed within the next six months, will have "the highest engine [capacity] of any kind ever made," and has successfully passed 42 engine-firing tests and 16 landing tests.

SpaceX is promising the rocket will be so powerful that -- in addition to its plans for Mars -- it will transport travellers from any location to another on Earth within an hour.

The plans for the rocket include a self-docking function, meaning that landing properly at a space station will require no human interaction from the rockets pilots, and the ship will have a fully reusable refuelling capacity that is aimed at saving on some of the cost and interplanetary travel time.

So, basically -- the promise of a smooth landing and less fuel stops along the way.

Additionally, the vehicle will have around 40 cabins for traveller groups of two or three people each, meaning about 100 people in total could be transported in a single launch.

"It is really quite a big vehicle. The main body diameter is about 9m or 30 feet. The booster is lifted by 31 rapture engines that thrust 5400 tonnes lifting a 34 tonne vehicle straight up," Musk said.

"That ship will contain 1100 tonnes propellant with a design of 150 tonnes and return mass of 50."

And if you thought that was a lot to take in, there's more.

Musk even released concept images of "Mars City" and "Moon Base Alpha" prior to his presentation to give excited space-lovers an idea of what the start of life on Mars might actually look like.

According to him, it will be the "opposite of Earth. Dawn and dusk sky are blue on Mars and day sky is red".