In 2026, a rover the size of an SUV will travel to the Moon on SpaceX's Starship.

SpaceX’s Starship has been making headlines for its potential to revolutionize space exploration, and the company's latest announcement is no exception. SpaceX founder Elon Musk recently announced plans to send an SUV-sized rover to the Moon in 2026 using the Starship spacecraft.

The rover, which will be built by the Canadian space company Canadensys Aerospace Corporation, will be equipped with advanced scientific instruments and will be capable of performing a range of tasks, including drilling into the lunar surface, analyzing samples, and mapping the terrain.

The rover will be delivered to the Moon aboard a Starship spacecraft, which is currently under development at SpaceX's facilities in Boca Chica, Texas. The Starship is a reusable spacecraft that is designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

SpaceX has been working on the Starship program for several years, and the spacecraft has undergone several design iterations and tests. The Starship is a massive spacecraft, standing at over 50 meters tall and weighing over 1,400 tons when fully fueled. It is powered by six Raptor engines, which use methane and oxygen as propellants.

The Starship spacecraft is designed to carry up to 100 passengers or 100 tons of cargo, making it one of the largest spacecraft ever built. Its size and capabilities make it an ideal platform for delivering large payloads to the Moon, including the SUV-sized rover.

The rover will be the first of its kind to be sent to the Moon since the Apollo missions of the 1960s and 70s. While the Apollo missions focused on human exploration, the new rover will be dedicated to scientific exploration and will be equipped with advanced instruments for analyzing lunar samples and mapping the Moon's terrain.

The rover will be equipped with a range of scientific instruments, including a drill for collecting lunar samples, a spectrometer for analyzing the chemical composition of the samples, and a camera for capturing high-resolution images of the lunar surface.

In addition to the scientific instruments, the rover will also be equipped with a suite of communication and navigation systems, which will enable it to communicate with Earth and navigate the lunar terrain with precision.

The SUV-sized rover will be delivered to the Moon using the Starship spacecraft, which will launch from SpaceX's facilities in Boca Chica, Texas. The spacecraft will then travel to the Moon, where it will land on the lunar surface and deploy the rover.

The mission is scheduled to take place in 2026, and it is expected to pave the way for future lunar exploration missions. The rover will provide valuable data and insights into the composition and geology of the Moon, which will be used to inform future missions and exploration efforts.

The rover mission is just one of many ambitious projects that SpaceX has in the works. The company is also developing a fleet of Starlink satellites for providing high-speed internet access to remote areas, as well as a Mars colonization program.

SpaceX's Starship program represents a major leap forward in space exploration technology. The reusable spacecraft has the potential to drastically reduce the cost and complexity of space missions, making it possible to explore new frontiers in space in a more sustainable and affordable way.

The SUV-sized rover mission to the Moon is just the beginning of what promises to be an exciting era of space exploration. With the Starship spacecraft and other innovative technologies in development, the possibilities for scientific discovery and exploration in space are endless.