What is the next step of SpaceX’s Starship rocket?

SpaceX, an American space technology company, will send Starship rocket to Mars again at the end of next year, several days after its latest test flight of the Starship prototype ended in a fiery explosion.

The company’s founder Elon Musk, also an owner of social media platform X (formerly Twitter), announced the new decision on Saturday.

The tech billionaire said Starship is set to depart for Mars at the end of 2026 and will carry Tesla humanoid robot Optimus.

He said humans could arrive on the red planet by 2029 if everything goes according to plan. He also admitted that 2031 is more likely.

Musk, who is also the Tesla CEO, said one day, the dancing robots would be able to do menial tasks, as well as offer friendship.

He also expected them to retail for $20,000 to $30,000.

According to SpaceX’s website, the world’s most powerful launch vehicle Starship can carry up to 150 metric tonnes, which is fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Musk disclosed his dream of sending men to Mars.

Wearing an “Occupy Mars” shirt, he has recently been spotted in the White House.

Musk’s announcement will bring an exciting week for SpaceX.

On Friday, SpaceX and NASA launched a crew for the International Space Station (ISS) to replace Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who have been standard in space for nine months.

On June 5, 2024, Wilmore and Williams launched into space and were scheduled to return to Earth on June 13, 2024.