Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, announced on social media X on the 15th that the heavy carrier rocket "Starship" will land on Mars with Tesla's humanoid robot "Optimus Prime" by the end of 2026. Musk said that if the landing goes smoothly, the manned Mars mission "could be implemented as early as 2029, but the possibility is even greater in 2031". Musk often adjusts the schedule of the "Starship" to carry out Mars missions. He stated at the beginning of last year that he would carry out the first unmanned Mars exploration mission within 5 years and the first manned Mars exploration mission within 7 years. The Starship rocket has a total length of about 120 meters and a diameter of about 9 meters. It consists of two parts, the first stage is a "super heavy" booster about 70 meters long, and the second stage is the Starship spacecraft. Both stages can be reused. The design goal of this rocket is to send people and cargo to Earth orbit, the moon, and even Mars. The Starship has currently conducted eight test flights. In its eighth test flight earlier this month, the "Starship" was launched into space from Texas, USA, but shortly after takeoff, the rocket's second stage spacecraft lost contact with the ground team. (New Society)