SpaceX
3D-printed Mars habitat could be a perfect fit for early SpaceX Starship colonies
Space architecture startup AI SpaceFactory achieved second place in the latest phase of a NASA-led competition, pitting several groups against each other in pursuit of designing a 3D-printed Mars habitat and physically demonstrating some of the technologies needed to build them.
With a focus on ease of scalable 3D-printing and inhabitants’ quality of life, as well as the use of modular imported goods like windows and airlocks, MARSHA lends itself impeccably well to SpaceX’s goal of developing a sustainable human presence on Mars as quickly, safely, and affordably as possible with the support of its Starship/Super Heavy launch vehicle.
Aside from developing a custom 3D-printing material utilizing in-situ Martian resources and demonstrating the technology by successfully printing a 1200 gallon (4500 L) water tank, SpaceFactory’s habitat design – known as MARSHA – combines a unique level of pragmatism, functionality, and aesthetic elegance. After analyzing different structural options, the SpaceFactory team settled on a cocoon-like cylinder, taking advantage of the many benefits of the Martian environment while controlling for its several downsides. Most notably, Martian gravity is roughly 38% of Earth’s, while the small planet’s atmosphere is typically 80-150 times less dense at surface-level. As a consequence, the forces exerted by Martian winds are minuscule and can effectively be ignored, while the low gravity dramatically minimizes architectural challenges that arise from Earthbound structures having to battle their own weight.
Equally important, all Martian habitats will need to be pressurized to a level comfortable for long-term colonists, requiring that they be able to survive significant internal pressurization. The Martian radiation environment is also significantly less forgiving than Earth, although the dangers of Martian radiation are dramatically overblown. The material of choice SpaceFactory designed to 3D-print its MARSHA habitat – a biorenewable plastic (PLA) reinforced with locally-sourced basalt fiber – also accounts for many of Mars’ shortcomings, as plastics happen to be some of the best materials for radiation shielding per unit of mass. Featuring a duo of PLA shells placing a meter or more of plastic between living areas, MARSHA would permit relatively acceptable radiation levels while avoiding the downsides of locating habitats underground or burying them under several meters of Martian regolith.
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- An overview of a potential Mars base built around the MARSHA habitat design. (AI SpaceFactory & PLOMP)
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- A glimpse into one floor of MARSHA’s Mars habitat interior. (AI SpaceFactory & PLOMP)
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- A number of BFR (2018) spaceships seen landed at a future Mars base. (SpaceX)
Thanks to its cylindrical design and SpaceFactory’s attention to quality of life for astronauts residing within it, MARSHA is also exceptionally beautiful and more than a little alluring even from the perspective of Earthly habitation. MARSHA’s thoughtful design and polished aesthetic would likely mesh well with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s own established preferences, known (sometimes infamously so) for a predilection towards building things that value form at least as much as function. Due to the relatively compact nature of the hardware needed (in theory) to begin building MARSHA and the apparent potential for autonomous construction, SpaceFactory’s design also aligns with a number of critical aspects of SpaceX’s outlined Mars colonization architecture.
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- AI SpaceFactory’s alluring vision of one route to humans living on Mars.
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- A cutaway view of MARSHA at Martian dusk. (AI SpaceFactory)
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- An outline of the main features of SpaceX’s “Mars Architecture”, present by Paul Wooster in August 2018. (SpaceX)
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- An overview of an early SpaceX Mars colony, circa 2017. (SpaceX)
Up next for NASA’s 3D-printed habitat competition is “Phase 3”, effectively a grand finale: up to eight finalists are expected to compete to 3D-print a 1/3rd scale model of their Mars habitat design as early as May 2019. While not confirmed, it’s likely that SpaceFactory will be among those finalists, potentially helping to offer an early glimpse at what rapidly-printed Mars habitats might look like in real life. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has also indicated that he would provide a more substantial update on the status of BFR (Starship/Super Heavy) and SpaceX’s Mars architecture soon after the company’s first Starship prototype – unofficially known as Starhopper – begins test flights. That milestone is like no fewer than 1-2 months away.
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SpaceX has updated its target for the thirteenth integrated flight test of Starship, aiming for as early as Thursday, July 23. The 90-minute launch window opens at 5:45 p.m. CT from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas.
The target flight was initially rescheduled for today, but SpaceX pushed it back again.
This latest adjustment follows an aborted attempt earlier in the week and reflects the iterative, rapid-development approach that has defined the Starship program. With the vehicle already stacked and ground teams making final preparations, the mission represents another step toward proving the full reusability of the world’s most powerful rocket system.
Now targeting to launch Starship’s thirteenth flight test as early as Thursday, July 23 → https://t.co/Rp7VwBzpWx pic.twitter.com/Y0YNzfc5zk
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 19, 2026
The original launch attempt on July 16 was scrubbed at T-0 when several Raptor engines on the Super Heavy booster failed to ignite properly. The automatic abort system triggered just as the engines began their startup sequence, preventing liftoff.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk confirmed that some engines did not start as expected, prompting the decision to replace two Raptors on Booster 20 to ensure reliability. The issue occurred despite a successful full-duration static fire earlier, highlighting the complexities of coordinating 33 engines under flight conditions.
This cautious approach underscores SpaceX’s commitment to safety amid an aggressive test cadence.
Flight 13 builds directly on the lessons from Flight 12 in May 2026. The Super Heavy booster’s primary goals include a successful liftoff, ascent, stage separation, boostback burn, and controlled splashdown in the Gulf of America.
Hardware and software modifications address the off-nominal flip and boostback burn problems from the prior flight, where propellant slosh and engine relight issues led to an uncontrolled impact.
For the Starship upper stage, objectives include deploying 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites, the first real payload of this type, performing a single Raptor engine relight in space, and executing a controlled entry, descent, and splashdown in the Indian Ocean. Propulsion upgrades aim to improve engine-out capability after one vacuum Raptor was lost on Flight 12.
Additional test elements focus on heat shield performance. Six satellites carry cameras to image the tiles during flight, while white-painted tiles and upgraded attachments on flaps and the aft skirt will gather data for future reusability.
The FAA completed its mishap investigation into Flight 12 earlier this month, clearing the regulatory path.
This suborbital mission, the second with V3 vehicles, advances Starship toward operational missions, including potential crewed flights and support for NASA’s Artemis program. Success would mark significant progress in rapid reusability and satellite deployment from the massive system.
Elon Musk dismissed reports claiming SpaceX had placed a massive order for NVIDIA GPUs worth $52 billion. The denial came hours after Taiwanese media, citing unnamed industry sources, reported that SpaceX planned to acquire approximately 13,000 AI server racks, equating to roughly 1 million GB300 GPUs, from Foxconn.
Each rack was estimated at around $4 million, with deliveries potentially starting in late 2025.
The story suggested this would mark SpaceX’s first major foray into Foxconn-manufactured NVIDIA hardware, breaking from suppliers like Supermicro and Dell. Musk responded bluntly on X:
This is fake news
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 20, 2026
Despite the denial, the rumored scale aligns with SpaceX’s explosive growth in AI infrastructure. NVIDIA’s GB300 (successor to the GB200 NVL) racks deliver unprecedented performance for large-scale training and inference. A $52 billion commitment would dwarf most corporate AI budgets and provide the compute muscle needed for frontier models.
SpaceX already operates gigawatt-scale terrestrial clusters like Colossus in Memphis, Tennessee, and has monetized them aggressively through leasing deals.
SpaceX’s newest Starmind will make earth data centers obsolete
Major customers include Anthropic (paying ~$1.25 billion monthly for 220,000+ GPUs), Google (~$920 million monthly for 110,000 GPUs), and Reflection AI. These arrangements are projected to generate tens of billions in annual revenue, far outpacing traditional SpaceX businesses.
Such an investment would fuel internal AI efforts, particularly Grok models under the integrated SpaceXAI division, while supporting ambitious orbital data center plans. SpaceX envisions launching thousands of AI-optimized satellites powered by solar energy and cooled in space, bypassing terrestrial power and land constraints.
This “Starmind” constellation could position the company as a leader in space-based computing.
SpaceX as an Emerging AI Powerhouse
Once primarily known for reusable rockets and Starlink satellite internet, SpaceX has transformed into a multifaceted AI player.
The 2026 acquisition of xAI integrated Grok development directly into the company. Starlink’s low-latency global network complements massive compute clusters, enabling efficient data flow for training and serving AI models.
Musk has long argued that AI scaling demands solutions beyond Earth, citing things like real estate and electricity limits on the ground.
While the Foxconn deal may not be in the cards, SpaceX’s trajectory is continuing on the path of blending aerospace engineering with hyperscale AI to dominate both launches and intelligence infrastructure.
SpaceX has announced a new target date for the thirteenth test flight of Starship: Monday, July 20, with the launch window opening at 6:45 p.m ET/5:45 p.m. CT.
This is the first rescheduling attempt of Starship’s 13th test flight. It was set to launch last night, but SpaceX scrubbed the launch attempt.
🚨 SpaceX is now looking at Monday, July 20th at 6:45 p.m ET/5:45 p.m. CT for the 13th test flight of Starship pic.twitter.com/7s8aMJV5Ge
— TESLARATI (@Teslarati) July 17, 2026
CEO Elon Musk revealed that some of the engines on Starship did not start, which automatically triggers a launch abort. Two of the Raptor engines will be removed and replaced.
To be confident of a good flight, 2 Raptors will be removed & replaced. Most probable launch timing is early next week.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 17, 2026
SpaceX officially announced the new launch window this morning.
Starship’s 13th test launch comes with a few new objectives, but SpaceX does not plan to attempt a catch of the booster, which it has done several times in the past.
For Starship’s Upper Stage, there are some adjustments to ensure engine reusability that will be assessed during the ascent, and 20 operational Starlink V3 satellites are also set to make their way into space. SpaceX also plans to attempt an in-space relight of a single Raptor engine, which is a critical demonstration for future orbital deorbit, refueling, and deep space maneuvers.
Ultimately, it will splash down in the Indian Ocean.
The continuous tests help SpaceX advance the Starship program toward eventual full reusability, operational Starlink V3 deployment, and future missions, which include NASA’s Artemis program.
SpaceX adjusts Starship Flight 13 test launch target date once again
Elon Musk debunks $52 billion SpaceX-NVIDIA GPU deal
