The Red Planet and Earth align properly for interplanetary missions just once every 26 months. The next such opportunity comes in 2026 between the months of November and December, and SpaceX will try to hit it; the goal is to send five Starship Version 3 vehicles to the Red Planet to prove out the vehicle and its associated tech, Musk said.

Two days after the latest in a string of test-flight setbacks for his big new Mars spacecraft, Starship, Elon Musk said on Thursday he foresees the futuristic vehicle making its first uncrewed voyage to the red planet at the end of next year.

“The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government,” Musk wrote of his efforts to cut federal spending. He added that his “scheduled time” as a special government employee had come to an end, since he is not permitted to work more than 130 days in a 365-day period under that designation.

Elon Musk has said he is leaving the Trump administration after helping lead a tumultuous drive to shrink the size of US government that saw thousands of federal jobs axed. In a post on his social media platform X,