SpaceX has officially begun offering Starship services to Mars — and Italy is first in line. In a historic move, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) has signed a first-of-its-kind agreement with SpaceX to send Italian scientific payloads aboard Starship’s inaugural missions to the Red Planet. The experiments will gather scientific data during these flights, marking Italy’s strong push in leading international space exploration.
“Italy is going to Mars!” wrote ASI President Teodoro Valente on X, confirming the partnership and SpaceX’s growing roster of Mars-bound commercial collaborations.
While SpaceX is actively offering Mars mission services, the company is still in the early stages of developing a fully operational Starship capable of reaching the planet. Following the fiery demise of Starship 36 during a static fire test in June, SpaceX recently completed a successful test of Ship 37. The company is now targeting an August launch for Starship’s 10th orbital flight using the updated prototype.
According to Elon Musk, there’s a “slight chance” of a crewless Mars Starship mission with Tesla’s humanoid Optimus robots as early as November or December 2026, but only if “a lot goes right.” A more realistic timeline from Musk pegged the first uncrewed flight occurring in about 3.5 years, with a human mission roughly two years after that. Per Musk, a self-sustaining city on Mars could emerge within 20–30 years.
While an August 17 launch date was previously spotted in filings for Flight 10, minor issues with Ship 37 after its recent static fire test suggest a short delay as SpaceX performs additional modifications and another validation firing.
