NASA's Busy Month: Layoffs, Mars Missions, and Astronaut Swap

NASA is granted an extra week to submit plans for mass layoffs amid high-priority space missions. SpaceX's Elon Musk announces Starship's Mars trip with Tesla's bot by 2026, aiming for human landings by 2029. Meanwhile, a SpaceX capsule docks at the ISS, enabling an astronaut crew swap.

NASA has been granted an extra week to organize plans for mass layoffs, a decision impacted by the high-priority space missions the agency is currently handling. The federal deadline was initially set for late in the week, aligning with the Trump administration's initiative to reduce federal bureaucracy.

Elon Musk, SpaceX's visionary founder, revealed that Starship is set for a Mars expedition with Tesla's humanoid bot, Optimus, by the end of next year. Musk suggested that human landings on the Red Planet could occur as early as 2029, with 2031 being a more realistic target if initial landings are successful.

A SpaceX capsule successfully docked with the International Space Station early Sunday morning, part of NASA's crew-swap mission. This event allows Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, astronauts stranded on the ISS for nine months, to return to Earth after the Crew-10 astronauts' arrival.

(With inputs from agencies.)