Watch SpaceX’s stunning footage from Fram2 polar mission As Musk said in his post, the long-term plan is to use the Starship — the most powerful rocket ever to fly — to take the first human crew to the surface of Mars. The SpaceX chief said in 2024 that he wanted to launch an uncrewed Starship to the red planet as early as next year to test the reliability of the spacecraft’s landing and liftoff capabilities. Next week, we’ll get an update on that plan. Once SpaceX engineers are confident of the Starship’s ability to get astronauts safely to Mars — and back again — the company can start making concrete preparations for the first crewed flight, something Musk has said he’d like to see happen before the end of this decade. Musk’s timelines often miss the mark, so don’t be surprised if this one does too. On the flip side, SpaceX is expected to ramp up Starship testing to up to two flights a month by the end of this year, giving the technology powering the rocket a better chance of accelerating toward readiness. Before the crewed Mars flight, NASA is expecting to use a modified version of the Starship to land two crewmembers on the surface of the moon in the Artemis III mission, which could take place in 2027. This year looks set to be the busiest yet for the Starship. Tune in next week for Musk’s address to find out more about what’s in store. Topics