SpaceX's Starship Flight 8, a 403-foot-tall rocket designed for full reusability and lunar landings for NASA's Artemis program, was positioned near a launch pad in Texas on March 3, 2025. The Starship is intended to be reliable, crew-safe, and capable of complex in-orbit refueling, essential for deep space missions, which SpaceX still needs to demonstrate. SpaceX, renowned for its 'fail fast, learn fast' approach that has established it as a leading launch services provider, encountered a setback with a recent test flight concluding in a fiery explosion, leading to an FAA investigation before further flights can proceed. Elon Musk announced on X that Starship is scheduled to embark for Mars by the end of 2026, carrying the Tesla humanoid robot Optimus, with human landings potentially commencing as early as 2029 or more likely in 2031. In January, Donald Trump pledged to plant the Stars and Stripes on Mars, while some raise concerns about potential conflicts of interest concerning Musk's influence.