NASA is also awaiting a modified version of Starship as a lunar lander for its Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon this decade.

In a post shared on social media platform X, SpaceX CEO Musk said Starship will carry Tesla humanoid robot Optimus to Mars. If conditions look suitable for humans, it could start "as soon as 2029."

SpaceX has blown up another Starship mega rocket on a test flight. Nearly two months after an explosion sent flaming debris raining down on the Turks and Caicos, SpaceX launched another mammoth Starship rocket on Thursday, but lost contact minutes into the test flight as the spacecraft came tumbling down and broke apart.