SpaceX’s Mars Starship spacecraft prototype soars on test flight

A prototype of SpaceX’s Mars Starship spacecraft got off the ground in a test flight, marking a small step that could one day prove to be a giant leap towards the human exploration of the Red Planet.

The vehicle, Starship SN5, performed a small hop as it took to the skies for about 40 seconds on Tuesday, Space.com reported.

“Mars is looking real,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted shortly after the test flight.

Starship is SpaceX’s ambitious spacecraft to take humans to the Red Planet. The company has been working on prototypes to find the right design that will work for the transport.

Several of Starship SN5’s predecessors got destroyed during test flights.