---
title: "425 Megapixel Photo Shows Incredible Details on SpaceX Starship"
description: "A new photo by Ars Technica photographer Trevor Mahlmann shows SpaceX's Starship spacecraft in astonishing, 425-megapixel detail."
date: "2021-01-29"
modified: "2021-01-29"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/photo-incredible-details-spacex-starship"
categories:
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "Starship"
tags:
  - "elon musk"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "Starship"
  - "the digest"
---

# 425 Megapixel Photo Shows Incredible Details on SpaceX Starship

![A new photo by Ars Technica photographer Trevor Mahlmann shows SpaceX's Starship spacecraft in astonishing, 425-megapixel detail.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/scribbles.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Trevor Mahlmann via Twitter\</em\>*

## Closer Look

When you think of SpaceX's enormous Starship rocket, you probably imagine it [looming far away in a landscape shot](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/faa-spacex-starship-fueled-anyway>), or as a [distant speck against the sky](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-starship-explodes-spectacular-fireball>) during a test flight.

But a [new photo ](<https://twitter.com/TrevorMahlmann/status/1354598014954975236>)by *Ars Technica* photographer Trevor Mahlmann shows the giant experimental spacecraft in [astonishing, 425 megapixel detail](<https://www.tmahlmann.com/photos/Rockets/SpaceX/SN9/i-Bdd6sf7/>) — enough to make out a thicket of wires, welding scars, and even scribbled handwritten messages on its surface.

## Glamor Shot

Even SpaceX CEO Elon Musk weighed in on Mahlmann's epic shot, which you can [purchase as a print](<https://www.tmahlmann.com/photos/Rockets/SpaceX/SN9/i-Bdd6sf7/>) on his site.

"Major esthetics improvements coming," Musk [told Mahlmann on Twitter](<https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1354700252251615232>).

## Ongoing Saga

SpaceX is currently in the process of testing the SN9 iteration of the prototype rocket, which is intended to one day carry passengers and cargo to Earth's orbit, the Moon, and even Mars.

For the past two days, SpaceX has fall into an [unexpected conflict](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/faa-spacex-starship-fueled-anyway>) with the FAA that's so far prevented a launch. But a second high altitude test flight — the first, of the vehicle's SN8 iteration, ended in a [spectacular explosion](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/amazing-video-shows-starship-explosion-incredible-detail>) — is expected in coming days.

**More on Starship:** [*FAA Grounds Starship SN9 Again, But SpaceX Rolls Out SN10 Instead*](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/faa-grounds-starship-sn9-spacex-sn10-instead>)

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)