Elon Musk’s space company SpaceX launched its 11th Starship rocket from Texas, which successfully landed in the Indian Ocean. This was the last test flight of the current version. SpaceX will start testing a newer, upgraded Starship version designed for missions to carry people to the Moon and Mars. 

 

 

According to NASA’s acting chief, Sean Duffy, this is a big step toward landing astronauts on the Moon’s south pole. NASA and SpaceX aim to land humans on the Moon in 2027 as part of a 3 billion US dollars deal under NASA’s Artemis programme-the first human Moon landing attempt since 1972. This puts SpaceX in the lead of a space race with China, which wants to send astronauts to the Moon by 2030.