Space
Mars sample-return mission gets boost from Trump’s 2021 budget request
On Monday, Feb. 10, the White House released its 2021 federal budget request, and in it, the administration identified NASA’s Mars sample return plans as a top priority. It also earmarked funding for a future mission to map out where ice is located on Mars.
The request asks for $25.2 billion for NASA, which is roughly a 12% boost over what the agency’s current budget is.
Of that $25.2 billion, Trump has designated $233 million for “Mars Future Missions” — one of which hopes to transport pristine pieces of the Red Planet to Earth, sometime around the 2031 time frame.
“Mars Future supports the development of the Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission that is planning to enter formulation (Phase A) as early as the summer of FY 2020,” NASA officials wrote in a description of the agency’s proposed 2021 allocation.
“In FY 2021, MSR formulation activities include concept and technology development, and early design and studies in support of the Sample Return Lander and the Capture/Containment and Return System,” they added. “Mars Future also supports a study of the facility required for handling of returned samples.”
The samples NASA is referring to will be collected by NASA’s next Mars rover, which is scheduled to launch in July. Dubbed the Mars 2020 rover, the six-wheeled robot will land on Mars in Feb. 2021, touching down inside Jezero Crater. It’s goal: to look for signs of life, and to collect samples of Mars for future return to Earth.
The rover, which will receive an official name sometime in March, will bag and tag samples of rocks and dirt, sealing them in canisters for eventual return to Earth. Once they arrive here, scientists all around the world will be able to study the samples and better understand our celestial neighbor.
The sample return part of the mission is a collaboration between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA). It will be a multi-step process, which includes the launch of NASA’s Sample Return Lander (SRL) followed by ESA’s Earth Return Orbiter (ERO).
The logistics are still being finalized as NASA is looking for a director to lead the program. But a rough outline of the planned return can be broken down as follows:
NASA’s sample return vehicle will carry a small rocket called the Mars Ascent Vehicle (MAV) along with an ESA-built rover, called the Sample Fetch Rover (SRF). The SRF will seek out the samples collected by the 2020 rover, and haul them to the MAV.
From there, the MAV will then launch the samples into orbit around Mars; there they’ll be picked up by the ERO, and the craft will head back toward Earth. Once in close proximity to Earth, the ERO will jettison the container, and it will land in the Utah desert. NASA expects this to all happen around 2031, although none of the dates are official at this point.
Also outlined in the budget is a need for a Sampling Receiving Facility, where the precious bits of Mars will be handled with the utmost care. In the facility, scientists will catalog the samples, and make sure that there’s no cross-contamination with Earth particles. (And to ensure that if there is life on Mars, no little Martian microbes will get out into the environment.)
But that’s not all, the “Mars Future Missions” budgetary line also allows for a collaboration with Canada to create the Mars Ice Mapper. Detailed information on this project is scarce at the moment as it’s in its very early stages.
“The Mars Ice Mapper is a remote sensing mission under study intended to map and profile the near-surface (3-15 meters) water ice, particularly that which lies in the mid-latitude regions, in support of future science and exploration missions,” NASA officials wrote in the budget document.
The Mars Ice Mapper could be a preliminary step in the effort to put humans on Mars, a goal NASA aims to accomplish sometimes in the 2030’s.
The 2021 budget request allocates more money to future Mars missions than previous budgets have, lining up with NASA’s overall goal of sending astronauts to both the moon and Mars.
If this budget request is any indication, the “Mars Future Missions” programs could set their budgets steadily increased as the years progress. But it’s not set in stone. The request is just that, a request. Congress has the ultimate approval and could choose to fund everything as it, or shuffle things around. Let’s hope it’s the latter so valuable programs, like STEM engagement, Earth science missions, and an incredible telescope are not cancelled.
SpaceX has decided to stand down from what was supposed to be the first test launch of Starship’s v3 rocket tonight after a minor issue with a hydraulic pin delayed the flight once more.
The company scrubbed its first test flight of the upgraded Starship v3 on May 21 in the final minutes of the countdown. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk quickly took to social media platform X, explaining that a hydraulic pin on the launch tower’s “chopsticks” arm failed to retract properly.
Musk added that the company would fix the issue this evening. SpaceX will attempt another launch tomorrow night at 5:30 p.m. CT, 6:30 p.m. ET, and 3:30 p.m. PT.
The hydraulic pin holding the tower arm in place did not retract.
If that can be fixed tonight, there will be another launch attempt tomorrow at 5:30 CT. https://t.co/DJAdvDYQpH
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 21, 2026
The countdown for Starship Flight 12 — featuring the taller and more capable V3 stack with Booster 19 and Ship 39 — had been progressing smoothly until the late-stage issue surfaced. The Mechazilla tower arm, designed to secure the vehicle on the pad and eventually catch returning boosters, could not complete its retraction sequence.
SpaceX teams immediately began troubleshooting the hydraulic system for an overnight repair.
Starship V3 introduces several significant upgrades over earlier versions. These include greater propellant capacity, more powerful Raptor 3 engines, larger grid fins, enhanced heat shielding, and an improved fuel transfer system.
We covered the changes that were announced just days ago by SpaceX:
SpaceX unveils sweeping Starship V3 upgrades ahead of May 19 launch
The changes are intended to increase payload performance, support higher flight rates, and advance the vehicle toward operational missions, including Starlink deployments, NASA Artemis lunar landings, and future crewed Mars flights. The debut flight from Starbase’s new Launch Pad 2 marked an important milestone in scaling up the fully reusable Starship system.
This stand-down highlights the intricate challenges of preparing the world’s most powerful rocket for flight. Despite extensive pre-launch checks, a single component in the ground support equipment can force a scrub.
The incident aligns with Starship’s proven iterative development approach. Previous test flights have encountered both successes and setbacks, each providing critical data that refines hardware and procedures. Some outlets may call some of these flights “failures,” when in reality, they are all opportunities for SpaceX to learn for the next attempt.
With V3, SpaceX aims to reduce ground-system dependencies and increase launch cadence to meet ambitious long-term goals.
SpaceX has revealed the date for the maiden voyage of Starship v3, its newest and most advanced version of the rocket yet.
Starship v3 represents a significant leap forward. At 124 meters tall when fully stacked, it stands taller than previous versions and boasts substantial upgrades.
The vehicle incorporates next-generation Raptor 3 engines, which deliver higher thrust, improved reliability, and simplified designs with fewer parts. Both the Super Heavy booster (Booster 19) and the Starship upper stage (Ship 39) feature these enhancements, along with structural improvements for greater payload capacity—exceeding 100 metric tons to low Earth orbit in reusable configuration.
SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk have announced that the company aims to push the first launch of Starship v3 this Thursday. Musk included some clips of past Starship launches with the announcement.
Now targeting launch as early as Thursday, May 21 → https://t.co/2gZQUxS6mm
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 19, 2026
First Starship V3 launch later this week! pic.twitter.com/JFX4CrSfnY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 19, 2026
There are a lot of improvements to Starship v3 from past builds. Key hardware changes include a more robust heat shield, upgraded avionics, and modifications optimized for orbital refueling, a critical technology for future missions to the Moon and Mars. This flight marks the first launch from Starbase’s second orbital pad, allowing parallel operations and accelerating the cadence of tests.
This will be the 12th Starship launch for SpaceX. Flight 12 objectives include a full ascent profile, hot-staging separation, in-space engine relights, and reentry testing. The booster is expected to perform a controlled splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico, while the ship will deploy 20 Starlink simulator satellites and a pair of modified Starlink V3 units before attempting reentry.
Success would validate V3’s design for operational use, paving the way for rapid reusability and higher flight rates.
The rapid evolution from V2 to V3 underscores SpaceX’s iterative approach. Previous flights demonstrated booster catches, ship landings, and heat shield advancements. V3 builds on these with nearly every component refined, supported by an expanding production line at Starbase that churns out vehicles at an unprecedented pace.
Starship V3 is here putting SpaceX closer to Mars than it has ever been
This launch comes amid growing momentum for SpaceX’s ambitious goals. Starship is central to NASA’s Artemis program for lunar landings and Elon Musk’s vision of making humanity multiplanetary. A successful V3 debut would boost confidence in achieving orbital refueling and crewed missions in the coming years.
As excitement builds, enthusiasts and engineers alike await liftoff. Weather and technical readiness will determine the exact timing, but the community is optimistic. Starship V3 is poised to push the boundaries of spaceflight once again, bringing reusable interplanetary transport closer to reality.
Elon Musk
Starship V3 is here putting SpaceX closer to Mars than it has ever been
Starship V3 launches May 20 carrying the hardware upgrades that make Moon and Mars possible.
SpaceX is preparing to fly the most significant version of Starship yet. Flight 12, the debut of Starship V3, is targeted for Wednesday, May 20, lifting off from Starbase in South Texas at 6:30 p.m. ET. It will also mark the first launch from the newly built Pad 2, adding another layer of firsts to an already milestone-heavy mission.
Starship V3 is a meaningful step up from what came before, and a next-gen design that improves on raw power and payload capacity. V3 can carry more than 100 metric tons to orbit in reusable configuration, which is roughly three times what the previous version could handle. Additionally, the new design is lighter and simpler than before, thereby reducing risk of component failure, while also reducing flight costs. The launch pad itself is also brand new, meaning SpaceX can now prepare two rockets at the same time instead of one. What makes all of this matter beyond the hardware is what it unlocks. NASA needs V3 to be reliable enough to land astronauts on the Moon, and Musk needs it to eventually carry people and cargo to Mars at a scale that makes a permanent settlement financially possible. Every previous Starship was essentially a prototype. V3 is the version SpaceX actually intends to put to work.
On May 7, SpaceX completed the first full-duration, full-thrust 33-engine static fire with the V3 Super Heavy, following two earlier attempts that ended early due to ground equipment issues. The Ship stage had already cleared its own static fire in April, making Flight 12 the first time both V3 vehicles have been cleared to fly together.
The stakes extend well beyond this single test. As Teslarati reported, NASA needs Starship to work as the Human Landing System for its Artemis program, with a crewed lunar landing now targeted for 2028 under Artemis IV. Before that can happen, SpaceX must demonstrate in-orbit propellant transfer at scale, a process requiring more than ten tanker launches to fuel a single Moon mission. V3 is the vehicle designed to make that economically viable.
Elon Musk has stated that Starship V3 should be capable enough for initial Mars missions, a detail that connects directly to his January 2026 compensation package, which awards him 200 million shares if SpaceX reaches a $7.5 trillion valuation and helps establish a permanent Mars colony of one million people. With SpaceX targeting a Nasdaq IPO as early as June 12 at a valuation of $1.75 trillion, and holding more than $22 billion in active government contracts spanning defense, NASA, and broadband, every successful Starship test adds tangible weight to that number.
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