SH
Ship + Super Heavy
The flying stack
Every destination variant launches on the same booster and ship architecture now in flight test at Starbase.
All rocket programs
Ad AstraSpaceX · destination program
Moon to Mars
SpaceX is building Starship to land NASA crews near the lunar south pole, now planned on Artemis IV rather than Artemis III, and then to carry cargo and people to Mars. NASA added an Earth-orbit docking demo as Artemis III. Starship reached orbit for the first time on Flight 14 on September 28, 2026. That flight was not a propellant-transfer demonstration.
- Moon role
- HLS
- One of two NASA landers
- First landing
- Artemis IV
- South pole target · 2028
- Mars role
- Cargo first
- Then crew
- Next gate
- Refuel
- Ship-to-ship transfer
01 / 06
Moon first, then Mars
Moon first, then Mars
HLS is not a side contract. It is the tanker-fed lander NASA is paying SpaceX to prove — in parallel with Blue Origin’s Blue Moon, and after an Earth-orbit docking demo on Artemis III.
- 01Underway
Flight-test the vehicle
Prove the stack · 2023–
Starship and Super Heavy fly as one vehicle from Starbase. Every tanker, lander, and Mars ship uses this stack.
- 02Next gate
Refuel in orbit
Tanker loop · Next
Cryogenic ship-to-ship transfer fills a departing Starship in low Earth orbit — the gate that opens a lunar landing and Mars.
- 03Ahead
Dock in Earth orbit
Artemis III · Mid-2027
NASA’s mid-2027 plan is a crewed Orion docking demo with Starship HLS and/or Blue Moon pathfinders in low Earth orbit — not a landing.
- 04Ahead
Uncrewed lunar landing
HLS demo · To come
NASA still requires an uncrewed Starship HLS landing (and ascent) before crew board the lander. No official demonstration window has been published.
- 05Ahead
Crew to the south pole
Artemis IV · 2028
NASA’s current target for the first crewed landing is early 2028. Which provider flies it — Starship HLS or Blue Moon — depends on who is ready.
- 06Ahead
Uncrewed transfer
Mars cargo · Ahead
Cargo Starships leave during a transfer window using the same tanker architecture a lunar lander needs. No public cargo-ship assignment exists yet.
02 / 06
Vehicle variants
One stack, four jobs
The test articles flying from Starbase are the common core. Destination work is the variants that peel off that core.
HLS
Human Landing System
NASA lunar lander
Landing legs, elevators, and surface systems instead of an Earth-return heat shield. NASA has not assigned the first crewed landing to this vehicle alone — Blue Moon is the other HLS.
TNK
Tanker / depot
The missing loop
A fleet of tankers fills a departing ship in low Earth orbit. Without this, HLS and Mars stay in charts.
M
Mars ship
Entry, descent, landing
Heat shield and EDL for a thin CO₂ atmosphere, then cargo first and crew later across a 26-month window.
03 / 06
Program milestones
Where the destination stands
5 of 9 tracked gates are behind us — in-orbit refueling is still the vehicle gate that opens a lunar landing.
Gates cleared56%
- Apr 2021Done
HLS contract awarded
NASA selected SpaceX Starship as the Human Landing System to return crews to the lunar surface.
Apr 2023DoneIntegrated flight tests
Starship and Super Heavy left the pad as one vehicle. It is the stack every tanker, lander, and Mars ship will fly.
Oct 2024DoneBooster catch
Mechanical recovery of Super Heavy is the reuse path a tanker fleet needs to fill a departing ship.
Jul 2026DoneIntact ship recovery
Ship 40 floated after splashdown, the first upper stage that can be inspected rather than written off.
Sep 2026DoneFirst orbit
Ship 41 reached orbit on Flight 14 on September 28, 2026 and deployed 26 Starlink V3 satellites.
NextNextIn-orbit refueling
Propellant transfer between Starships is the gate that turns a LEO vehicle into a Moon and Mars vehicle.
- To comeAhead
Uncrewed lunar landing
A cargo or uncrewed HLS Starship lands on the Moon. It is NASA's required demonstration before crew.
- To comeAhead
Artemis HLS crew landing
Crew transfer from Orion into a commercial lander for a south-pole stay. NASA’s current target is Artemis IV in 2028. Provider is not locked.
- To comeAhead
Mars transfer window
Uncrewed cargo toward Mars during a transfer window, using the tanker architecture HLS is paying to prove.
04 / 06
Lunar architecture
How Starship lands on the Moon
A Starship lunar landing is a tanker-fed lander, not a single launch from Texas to the south pole. NASA’s first crewed landing is now Artemis IV; which provider flies it is not locked.
- 01
Launch
Super Heavy lifts a Starship from Starbase. HLS and tanker variants share this ascent before their missions diverge.
- 02
Refuel
Tanker Starships top off the lander in low Earth orbit until it holds enough propellant for trans-lunar injection.
- 03
Rendezvous
HLS flies to near-rectilinear halo orbit and meets Orion. Two crew transfer in for descent.
- 04
Surface
The lander touches down near the south pole for roughly a week of EVAs, then returns the crew to Orion.
05 / 06
What gates the destinations
Signals to watch
This is not a NASA or SpaceX launch probability. It tracks public destination gates rather than the next test flight from Starbase. Those gates are tanker architecture, propellant transfer, the HLS lander variant, and the uncrewed landing NASA requires before crew.
Tanker architecture
25%Design public, not flown
Lunar and Mars missions need a depot of tanker Starships in low Earth orbit. Starship reached orbit for the first time on Flight 14 on September 28, 2026. A tanker flight and a propellant-transfer demo have not flown.
In-orbit refueling
10%Not demonstrated
Ship-to-ship cryogenic transfer is the gate that turns a LEO-class vehicle into a Moon and Mars vehicle. SpaceX has not published a completed on-orbit transfer.
HLS lander variant
35%In development
The Human Landing System drops the Earth-return heat shield in favor of landing legs, elevators, and surface systems. NASA reports vendor progress. No integrated lander has been stacked in public.
Uncrewed landing demo
5%Not scheduled in public
NASA requires an uncrewed Starship HLS landing on the Moon before crew. No official demonstration window has been published.
Artemis IV crew landing
15%Tied to NASA + dual HLS
NASA’s current target for the first crewed landing is early 2028 on Artemis IV. Which provider flies it, Starship HLS or Blue Moon, depends on who is ready. Artemis III is an Earth-orbit docking demo, not a landing.
Mars cargo path
10%Architecture only
Uncrewed cargo during a transfer window is the stated first Mars step. No public cargo-ship assignment or window commitment exists yet.
06 / 06
References
Sources and references
Primary program records used for this tracker. Destination scores are editorial estimates from public signals — not an official NASA or SpaceX probability.