SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recommended hastening the end of the International Space Station on his social media site X, arguing that the orbiting laboratory should be taken out of orbit within two years instead of the current five-year target.

As chairman of the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, Cruz effectively has control over Isaacman's confirmation process. He was also just re-elected to a six-year term, so theoretically Cruz is less susceptible to political pressure from the Trump White House.

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."

Elon Musk’s latest space-related hammer throw is to call for it to be deorbited as soon as two years from now.