Space
NASA’s newest Mars rover gets christened with a ‘strong’ official name
NASA’s next Mars rover will depart Earth in July, bound for the red planet. After landing in Feb. of next year, the six-wheeled rover will explore its surroundings. Initially dubbed as Mars 2020 as a nod to its launch date, the rover has just received an official name: Perseverance.
As part of a nationwide contest, NASA challenged children in grades K-12 to come up with a name for the robotic explorer. This follows tradition as rovers of the past, and even planets (hello Pluto), have been named by children. Viking, Pathfinder, Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, InSight, and now Perseverance.
The newest rover will build on the success of those robotic explorers who came before it by collecting the first samples of Mars for a future return to Earth. It will also lay the groundwork for future human exploration by testing new technologies.
“Yes, it’s curiosity that pulls us out there, but it’s perseverance that does not let us give up,” Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s associate administrator for the science mission directorate said during a news conference on Thursday.
Although Curiosity and Perseverance look like twins, the two rovers are quite different. But, it takes the pair to help us better understand Mars and its habitability.
“Perseverance is a strong word,” he said. “It’s about making progress despite obstacles.”
“There has never been exploration without perseverance,” Zurbuchen added.
A total of 28,000 entries were received, and over the course of several months, NASA narrowed the field down to just 9 finalists. The public was asked to vote for its favorite, but ultimately the final decision was up to Zurbuchen. Each student was tasked with writing a brief essay supporting their choice in name. The finalists are listed below, and you can read more about the contest here.
- Endurance, K-4, Oliver Jacobs of Virgina.
- Tenacity, K-4, Eamon Reilly of Pennsylvania.
- Promise, K-4, Amira Shanshiry of Massachusetts.
- Perseverance, 5-8, Alexander Mather of Virginia.
- Vision, 5-8, Hadley Green of Mississippi.
- Clarity, 5-8, Nora Benitez of California.
- Ingenuity, 9-12, Vaneeza Rupani of Alabama.
- Fortitude, 9-12, Anthony Yoon of Oklahoma.
- Courage, 9-12, Tori Gray of Louisiana.
The Perseverance Mars rover, which looks nearly identical to the Curiosity rover that landed in 2012, will begin its mission exploring Jezero Crater. Equipped with a suite of specially-designed instruments it will look for signs of life called biosignatures.
NASA’s research indicates that Mars was habitable sometime in its past. But so far, we haven’t been able to detect any real signs of ancient life yet. The rover’s team thinks that its specialized suite of instruments will change that.
To that end, Perseverance will drill into the Martian surface, extracting samples that will eventually be returned to Earth for further study. Returning the samples is a challenge that NASA is already starting to tackle, along with the European Space Agency. The agency estimates that the earliest it can send a mission to fetch the rover’s samples would be some time around 2026 or 2027.
In the meantime, Perseverance will be busy scouring the surface for evidence of microbial life as well as testing out technologies that future human missions could rely on. It will also carry the first helicopter to explore another planet.
The small, autonomous rotorcraft, will launch attached to the rover’s belly. Shortly after arriving on Mars, the softball-sized craft will use its dual blades to slice through the Martian atmosphere. According to engineers, its blades will generate nearly 3,000 rpm — 10 times the rate of helicopters here on Earth.
The Mars helicopter will conduct as many as five flights, each time flying a bit further away than the last. For its first flight, the helicopter will climb to 10 feet (3 meters), hovering for about 30 seconds. If this technology proves to be successful, this type of craft could be used to explore Mars ahead of human exploration.
Elon Musk
Starbase after dark: Musk’s latest photo captures a Spaceport on the brink of history
SpaceX’s Starbase city in Boca Chica, Texas is rapidly transforming the southern tip of the Lone Star State into one of the most ambitious launch complexes in history.
A striking nighttime photograph of SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas, shared recently by Elon Musk on X, offers a dramatic glimpse of an operation that is rapidly transforming the southern tip of the Lone Star State into one of the most ambitious launch complexes in history.
The most immediately visible change in the photo is the presence of two fully erected Starship launch towers dominating the coastal skyline. The second orbital launch pad, known as Pad B, now features its fully erected tower, OLIT-3, which stands approximately 474 feet tall and incorporates an integrated water-cooled flame trench designed to minimize damage and reduce turnaround time between launches. The dual-tower silhouette against the night sky signals a decisive shift from experimental testing facility to high-cadence launch operations.
Grok Image concept of Elon Musk’s latest Starbase photo via X
Back at Starbase, Pad 2 is approaching hardware completion, with upgraded chopstick arms, a new chilldown vent system, and all 20 hold-down arms now fitted with protective doors to shield them from the intense exhaust of up to 33 Raptor 3 engines, according to a deeper dive by NASASpaceFlight.
SpaceX has also received approval to nearly double the footprint of the Starbase launch site, with groundwork already underway to add LNG liquefaction plants, expanded propellant storage, and additional ground support infrastructure.
The photo also carries a milestone civic dimension. Starbase officially became a Texas city in May 2025 after a community vote, with SpaceX employees elected as mayor and commissioners of the newly incorporated municipality. That legal status streamlines launch approvals and gives SpaceX direct control over local infrastructure decisions.
The FAA has approved an increase in launches from Starbase in Texas from five to twenty-five per year, clearing the runway for the kind of flight frequency needed to fulfill Starship’s ultimate mission of ferrying cargo and crew to the Moon, servicing the Department of Defense, deploying next-generation Starlink satellites, and eventually establishing Elon Musk’s long sought after goal of a self-sustaining human presence on Mars.
Seen from above in the dark, Starbase looks less like a test site and more like a spaceport.
News
Starlink gets its latest airline adoptee for stable and reliable internet access
The company said it plans to “rapidly integrate Starlink into its fleet,” and that the first Starlink-equipped aircraft will enter service this Summer.
SpaceX’s Starlink, the satellite internet program launched by Elon Musk’s company, has gotten its latest airline adoptee, offering stable and reliable internet to passengers.
Southwest Airlines announced on Wednesday that it would enable Starlink on its aircraft, a new strategy that will expand to more than 300 planes by the end of the year.
The company said it plans to “rapidly integrate Starlink into its fleet,” and that the first Starlink-equipped aircraft will enter service this Summer.
Tony Roach, Executive Vice President, Chief Customer and Brand Officer for the airline, said:
“Free WiFi has been a huge hit with our Rapid Rewards Members, and we know our Customers expect seamless connectivity across all their devices when they travel. Starlink delivers that at-home experience in the air, giving Customers the ability to stream their favorite shows from any platform, watch live sports, download music, play games, work, and connect with loved ones from takeoff to landing.”
Southwest also said that this is just one of the latest upgrades it is making to provide a more well-rounded experience to its aircraft. In addition to Starlink, it is updating cabin designs, offering more legroom, and installing in-seat power to all passengers.
Southwest became one of several airlines to cross over to Starlink, as reviews for the internet provider have raved about reliability and speed. Over the past year, Hawaiian Airlines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, airBaltic, Air France, JSX, Emirates, British Airways, and others have all decided to install Starlink on their planes.
This has been a major move away from unpredictable and commonly unreliable WiFi offerings on planes. Starlink has been more reliable and has provided more stable connections for those using their travel time for leisure or business.
Jason Fritch, VP of Starlink Enterprise Sales at SpaceX, said:
“We’re thrilled to deliver a connectivity experience to Southwest Airlines and its Customers that really is similar, if not better, than what you can experience in your own home. Starlink is the future of connected travel, making every journey faster, smoother, and infinitely more enjoyable.”
Starlink recently crossed a massive milestone of over 10 million subscribers.
Despite many recent rumors and various reports, Elon Musk confirmed today that SpaceX is not developing a phone based on Starlink, not once, but twice.
Today’s report from Reuters cited people familiar with the matter and stated internal discussions have seen SpaceX executives mulling the idea of building a mobile device that would connect directly to the Starlink satellite constellation.
Musk did state in late January that SpaceX developing a phone was “not out of the question at some point.” However, He also said it would have to be a major difference from current phones, and would be optimized “purely for running max performance/watt neural nets.”
Not out of the question at some point. It would be a very different device than current phones. Optimized purely for running max performance/watt neural nets.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 30, 2026
While Musk said it was not out of the question “at some point,” that does not mean it is currently a project SpaceX is working on. The CEO reaffirmed this point twice on X this afternoon.
Musk said, “Reuters lies relentlessly,” in one post. In the next, he explicitly stated, “We are not developing a phone.”
Reuters lies relentlessly
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2026
We are not developing a phone
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2026
Musk has basically always maintained that SpaceX has too many things going on, denying that a phone would be in the realm of upcoming projects. There are too many things in the works for Musk’s space exploration company, most notably the recent merger with xAI.
SpaceX officially acquires xAI, merging rockets with AI expertise
A Starlink phone would be an excellent idea, especially considering that SpaceX operates 9,500 satellites, serving over 9 million users worldwide. 650 of those satellites are dedicated to the company’s direct-to-device initiative, which provides cellular coverage on a global scale.
Nevertheless, there is the potential that the Starlink phone eventually become a project SpaceX works on. However, it is not currently in the scope of what the company needs to develop, so things are more focused on that as of right now.
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