Roundhill Launches Space ETF Ahead of SpaceX IPO — One Holding Already Owns A Piece Of Musk’s Rocket Company – EchoStar (NASDAQ:SATS)

Roundhill Investments has launched specialty ETFs focused on sectors such as sports betting, weight-loss drugs, autonomous vehicles and the metaverse.

The ETF company launched its newest thematic ETF on Thursday with the launch of the Roundhill Space & Technology ETF (BATS:MARS), a pure-play space ETF that comes ahead of a long-awaited SpaceX IPO reported for 2026.

The Roundhill Space & Technology ETF

In a recent interview with Benzinga, Roundhill Investments CEO Dave Mazza highlighted artificial intelligence, energy security and health care productivity as themes that could benefit from the current White House administration.

Mazza also called out space exploration as a key theme to watch.

“With a framework (albeit early) now in place, there is a clear opportunity for space exploration companies that have the tailwind of supportive U.S. government policy,” Mazza told Benzinga.

Several months later, the Roundhill Space & Technology ETF is here with the clever ticker of “MARS.”

“Roundhill believes the space economy is transitioning from government-driven exploration to commercial-scale infrastructure,” the company’s website reads.

The actively managed ETF will seek to invest in companies that have exposure to the space economy and enabling technologies, with a large focus on the companies “powering industries reliant on space infrastructure.”

“The space economy is no longer a distant frontier; it is a critical component of the modern global infrastructure,” Mazza said in a press release. “With the launch of MARS, we are providing investors with a precise tool to access the ‘pure-play’ companies driving this transformation.”

Roundhill highlights an estimate of the global space economy to grow from $630 billion in 2023 to $1.8 trillion in 2035, according to McKinsey.

Roundhill Space ETF Holdings

The Roundhill Space & Technology ETF has 23 holdings to start. Here are the current top 10 holdings of the ETF as of Thursday:

Rocket Lab (NASDAQ:RKLB): 10.33%

AST SpaceMobile (NASDAQ:ASTS): 9.99%

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS): 8.99%

Planet Labs (NYSE:PL): 5.59%

Globalstar (NASDAQ:GSAT): 5.48%

Viasat Inc (NASDAQ:VSAT): 5.12%

OHB SE (international): 4.85%

SKY Perfect (international): 4.77%

MDA Space (international): 4.27%

Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR): 3.98%

The fund is heavily weighted among its top 10 holdings with the top three holdings making up 29.3% of assets currently.

Among the top three holdings is EchoStar, a company Benzinga previously profiled as one of the ways to invest in SpaceX ahead of the highly anticipated IPO.