The Elon Musk-owned SpaceX commercial space company has reportedly requested images of potential Mars landing sites from NASA. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRise camera database includes a small group of images defined as “Candidate landing site for SpaceX Starship.” Starship is SpaceX’s next-generation spaceship meant to work within both Earth and lunar orbit and eventually Mars.

SpaceX Starship is progressing through a startlingly rapid development process.

Images labelled “Candidate Landing Site for SpaceX #Starship in Arcadia Region were found in latest data release from @HiRISE humanMars.net

Elon Musk’s company is currently building two orbital prototypes and just completed a successful short jump of its Starhopper prototype to test its Raptor engine. humanMars.net broke the story with the Tweet: “Images labelled “Candidate Landing Site for SpaceX #Starship in Arcadia Region were found in latest data release from @HiRISE”. “It means @SpaceX is already quietly evaluating best place where to land first Starships on #Mars.” READ MORE: Watch video of SpaceX Falcon Heavy fairing's fiery Earth re-entry

SpaceX news: The Elon Musk-owned SpaceX commercial space company is working with NASA

SpaceX news: humanMars.net broke the story

The NASA HiRise image database is searchable by anyone. These SpaceX-related images likely came out in a recent August update. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took the photographs in June and July. Despite SpaceX remaining years from launching a Mars mission, it has already began reconnoitring potential landing sites. READ MORE: NASA wants You to submit song for future Moon missions

NASA begins its own evaluations far advance of launching a lander or rover to Mars. This Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter photo is one of a handful labeled as candidate landing sites for the SpaceX Starship. NASA is currently focused on the moon as a launch for Mars missions, but the space agency has already considered the Red Planet as ripe for for human exploration. A workshop group in 2015 proposed 47 possible landing spots. SpaceX’s HiRise images show the private space enterprise is primarily interested in the Arcadia region of Mars, boasting both volcanoes and wide plains.

SpaceX news: Elon Musk’s company is currently building two orbital prototypes

SpaceX news: Starship is moving through a fairly rapid development process

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