SpaceX launched a crewed NASA mission on Friday to return two astronauts from the International Space Station, after technical issues with Boeing’s spacecraft extended their stay for nine months, leading SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump to suggest they were stranded for “political reasons.”

Humans have never set foot on Mars, but Musk and SpaceX have set a goal to get over this obstacle by the dawn of the next decade. He took to X yesterday (15 March), to confirm that SpaceX's Starship will be heading to Mars at the end of 2026.

Elon Musk on Saturday announced that SpaceX's Starship Mars will be carried out by the end of 2026. After a success, the company will focus on human landing on Mars by 2029-2031.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced that the Starship rocket would depart for Mars at the end of 2026. The spacecraft will also carry Tesla's humanoid robot Optimus onboard, as a precursor to human landings.