AUSTIN -- Elon Musk says if mankind doesn't make it to Mars by the time he dies, it'll be the biggest disappointment of his life.

Speaking to a packed crowd of several thousand attendees at South by Southwest on Saturday, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX said he might even consider making the journey himself. 

"I'd like to die on Mars, just not on impact," he said.

For now, he's been focusing his attention on something a little closer to home. Musk revealed to the crowd that SpaceX is one step closer to developing a reusable rocket, saying the company launched a 10-story rocket Saturday that burst into the sky, rose 262.8 feet, hovered and landed safely on the pad 34 seconds later using thrust vector and throttle control. To cushion its fall back to the launch pad, the Grasshopper has steel landing legs with hydraulic dampers, plus a steel support structure. 

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