David Alexander, the director of the Rice Space Institute, talks about SpaceX's Starship tests and the eventual goal of going to Mars.

Its successors will be even bigger and more powerful. In a livestreamed Starship update this past May, Musk said that the next iteration, V3, will be 408 feet (124.4 m) tall. One of his slides also depicted a variant described as "Future Starship," which will tower at a whopping 466 feet (142 m).

SpaceX's Starship successfully put satellites in space for the first time, a major milestone for the Elon Musk-led company after a year marked by explosive test flights and development setbacks.

CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up to receive future editions. It was a matter of time, with governments racing to clinch the first Mars ...

NASA released photos and video of a Martian moon passing between the planet and the sun. The occurrence is common on Mars, lasting around 30 seconds.