SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has ambitions beyond colonizing Mars. While all his plans--including the ones related to the colonization of Mars--have remained more or less secret, things may change on September 27. Musk is expected to shed some light on his ideas during the upcoming International Astronautical Congress.

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Musk recently tweeted that SpaceX may need to rename its Mars Colonial Transporter (MCT) as it can "go well beyond Mars." The tweet may presage SpaceX's latest exciting plans that would be unveiled during the International Astronautical Congress. At the event, Musk, who is a special keynote speaker, will be delivering a speech titled "Making Humans a Multiplanetary Species."

According to Ars Technica, the Mars Colonial Transporter is designed to carry up to 100 people to the red planet. Alternatively, it can be used to transport nearly 100 tons of cargo.

Mars has long been considered the best planet for colonization. It has an edge over other contenders such Venus and the Moon due to its thin atmosphere and relative proximity to Earth.

The MCT project was first introduced in 2013. According to The Tech Portal, MCT is a privately-funded project. Musk has noted that he is likely to hold off SpaceX's Initial Public Offering until after the "Mars Colonial Transporter is flying regularly."

Before Musk starts planning to colonize space beyond Mars, he needs to address some critical issues. Earlier this month, SpaceX suffered a massive setback after its Falcon 9 rocket along with its payload exploded right before its scheduled launch.