SpaceX has pulled off the boldest test flight yet of its enormous Starship rocket. Elon Musk's company caught the returning booster back at the Texas launch pad with mechanical arms Sunday, shortly after liftoff.

(Reuters) -SpaceX in its fifth Starship test flight on Sunday returned the rocket's towering first stage booster back to its Texas launch pad for the first time using giant mechanical arms, achieving another novel engineering feat in the company's push to build a reusable moon and Mars vehicle.

While there's no exact date set yet for the rocket’s next flight, it could be as soon as this weekend - and SpaceX is expecting big things. This will be Starship's fifth outing, and all eyes will be on the landing phases – specifically, the return of the vehicle’s bottom part, the Super Heavy booster.

The launch tower’s monstrous metal arms, dubbed chopsticks, caught the descending 232-foot stainless steel booster and gripped it tightly, dangling it well above the ground

The company achieved a major milestone during the fifth test flight of the vehicle, which could carry people to the moon and Mars, landing the rocket’s booster stage at a Texas launch site.

The fifth flight test of SpaceX's Starship megarocket on Oct. 13 demonstrated not only great engineering but also some amazing photography. Here are some of the best shots.