SpaceX has secured its first customer for an upcoming mission to Mars, with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) announcing plans to send scientific payloads aboard the company’s giant Starship rocket.
An illustration of a SpaceX Starship as it enters Mars' atmosphere and decelerates aerodynamically. Credit: SpaceX
ASI President Teodoro Valente confirmed on Aug. 7 that the agency has signed an agreement to fly experiments on the inaugural commercial Mars flights of Starship, the fully reusable spacecraft SpaceX is developing for interplanetary travel.
According to ASI, the payloads will include a plant growth experiment, a meteorological monitoring station, and a radiation sensor. These instruments will collect vital scientific data during the roughly six-month journey from Earth to Mars and on the planet’s surface.
SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell welcomed the partnership with enthusiasm, posting on X: “Get on board! We are going to Mars! SpaceX is now offering Starship services to the Red Planet. We’re excited to work with the Italian Space Agency on this first-of-its-kind agreement. More to come.”
Starship — the most powerful rocket ever built — is central to Elon Musk’s long-term vision of enabling human settlement on Mars. However, the spacecraft has yet to achieve orbit. Since its first launch in April 2023, Starship has completed eight suborbital test flights from SpaceX’s Starbase facility in South Texas. The three most recent missions, in January, March, and May 2025, all ended with the loss of the upper stage before its intended splashdown in the Indian Ocean.
SpaceX is now preparing for Starship’s 10th test flight, which Musk has said could launch later this month.
If successful, the partnership with ASI could mark a significant milestone in opening commercial access to Mars — not just for governments, but for scientific and industrial customers worldwide.
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