SpaceX sets sights on Mars: Starship's maiden voyage in 2026
Elon Musk announced that SpaceX's Starship rocket will depart for Mars in March 2026. Onboard will be the humanoid robot Optimus.
SpaceX plans to launch its first Starship rocket to Mars in March 2026. Elon Musk shared this information on X. The humanoid robot Optimus will be onboard the rocket.
Starship is an impressive rocket over 120 metres tall, designed to carry large payloads into orbit. In addition to the Martian missions, Starship is crucial for the Artemis programme, which aims to send humans back to the Moon and establish a permanent presence there.
Elon Musk predicts that if the Starship landing on Mars goes smoothly, people could reach the Red Planet as early as 2029. However, this is an optimistic assumption. The year 2031 is much more likely.
Starship has already completed eight test flights into space. Unfortunately, a malfunction occurred during the last flight at the beginning of March, causing the spacecraft to lose control and explode in the air.
Falcon 9 embarked on a rescue mission to the ISS
On Friday, the Falcon 9 rocket launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, targeting the International Space Station (ISS). The mission, organised by NASA and SpaceX, aims to bring astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore back to Earth, who have been aboard the station since June.
The Falcon 9 mission encountered some technical difficulties. Initially planned for Wednesday, the launch was postponed due to technical reasons. NASA also had to amend specific flight safety verification procedures due to SpaceX's "rapid pace of operations." This required, among other things, investigating a fuel leak and the deterioration of the coating on some engines of the Dragon capsule.
Astronauts Wilmore and Williams, despite the extended stay, conducted scientific research and performed routine maintenance work on the ISS.
