And Musk's focus on Mars as the next destination for humanity after low Earth orbit should come as no surprise; the billionaire has long had the Red Planet in his sights. In a December X post, for example, he dismissed the moon as "a distraction," saying that "we're going straight to Mars."

DOGE leader and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said it's time to speed up preparations to deorbit the International Space Station.