Elon Musk's Mars rocket takes shape: New photos reveal clearest look   

Elon Musk’s Starship prototype is beginning to come together.

New pictures released this week show construction underway on the test vehicle of the SpaceX ship that could one day bring humans tourists to Mars.

The latest images provide a clearer view of the two components previewed by Musk at the end of last month, showing engineers in cherry-pickers at work on the nose cone and another large piece of the system, the Daily Mail reports.

In one view shared in a thread on the NASA Spaceflight forum, a large American flag can be seen plastered on the side of one of the huge metal cylinders.

The progress comes as SpaceX ramps up work on the test hopper ahead of planned flights later this year

Starship – previously known as BFR, Big Falcon Rocket, or the Big F***ing Rocket – is the crux of Musk’s plans to send humans to Mars.

Musk tweeted out the photo at the end of December, captioning it simply, ‘Stainless Steel Starship.’

In a series of tweets that followed, however, the CEO elaborated on the plans for the test vehicle.

Responding to questions from Twitter users, Musk confirmed it would use stainless steel, like the Atlas rocket family.

But, he explained, it will have a “different mixture of alloys & new architecture.”

“Unlike Atlas, Starship is buckling stable on launchpad even when unpressurized,” Musk said.