A New ETF Aims for Mars, But One Holding Already Has a Ticket to SpaceX

MarketDash

Mar 6, 12:01 AM

Roundhill launches a 'pure-play' space ETF with a clever ticker and a concentrated portfolio. Here's what's inside and how it stacks up against the competition.

Key Points

Roundhill Investments has launched the Roundhill Space & Technology ETF (MARS), an actively managed fund targeting companies in the space economy.
The fund's top holdings include Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile, and EchoStar, with the top three making up nearly 30% of the portfolio.
EchoStar's stake in SpaceX, acquired through a spectrum deal, represents a significant asset and a backdoor way to gain exposure to the rocket company ahead of its rumored 2026 IPO.
The MARS ETF differentiates itself from existing space funds like the Procure Space ETF (UFO) through heavier weightings in its top holdings and a focus on 'pure-play' space infrastructure companies.
The launch is backed by a bullish outlook on the sector, with the global space economy projected to grow from $630 billion to $1.8 trillion by 2035.

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Roundhill Investments has a thing for thematic ETFs. They've launched funds for sports betting, weight-loss drugs, self-driving cars, and the metaverse. Now, they're aiming for the stars—or at least the companies trying to get us there.

On Thursday, the firm launched the Roundhill Space & Technology ETF (MARS), a new actively managed fund that wants to be a pure-play on the space economy. The timing is interesting, coming well ahead of the long-rumored initial public offering for Elon Musk's SpaceX, which some reports suggest could happen in 2026.

So, what's the big idea here?

In a recent interview, Roundhill CEO Dave Mazza pointed to space exploration as a key theme to watch, especially with what he sees as supportive U.S. government policy. "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 said.

Now, several months later, that idea has a ticker: MARS. Clever.

"Roundhill believes the space economy is transitioning from government-driven exploration to commercial-scale infrastructure," the company says. The ETF will focus on companies "powering industries reliant on space infrastructure." In other words, it's less about the romance of exploration and more about the nuts and bolts—or rockets and satellites—that make modern life work.

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

The optimism is backed by a big number. Roundhill cites a McKinsey estimate that the global space economy could balloon from $630 billion in 2023 to $1.8 trillion by 2035. That's the kind of growth trajectory that gets ETF issuers excited.

What's Inside the MARS ETF?

The new fund starts with 23 holdings. It's a concentrated portfolio, with the top three positions making up a hefty 29.3% of the assets. Here are the top 10 holdings as of launch:

Rocket Lab (RKLB): 10.33%

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS): 9.99%

EchoStar Corporation (SATS): 8.99%

Planet Labs (PL): 5.59%

Globalstar (GSAT): 5.48%

Viasat Inc (VSAT): 5.12%

OHB SE (international): 4.85%

SKY Perfect (international): 4.77%

MDA Space (international): 4.27%

Intuitive Machines (LUNR): 3.98%

The list is a mix of satellite operators, launch providers, and companies building the hardware. But one holding, EchoStar, is particularly noteworthy because it offers a backdoor into the space ETF's white whale: SpaceX.

EchoStar, a satellite communications company, did a deal last year where it sold spectrum licenses to SpaceX. The payment? $8.5 billion in cash and another $8.5 billion in SpaceX stock, based on a valuation of $400 billion for the rocket company. If that valuation holds, EchoStar's SpaceX stake is now worth over $25 billion. For a company with a market cap around $33 billion, that's not just a holding—it's a transformative asset. It's also a way for MARS investors to get indirect exposure to SpaceX long before any IPO.

How It Stacks Up Against Other Space Funds

MARS isn't the first ETF trying to capitalize on the final frontier. The most direct comparison is the Procure Space ETF (UFO), which was the first U.S. pure-play space ETF.

On the surface, they look similar. Seven of MARS's top 10 holdings—Planet Labs, MDA Space, ViaSat, EchoStar, Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile, and Sky Perfect—are also in UFO's top 10. But the devil is in the weighting.

MARS goes all-in on its convictions. It makes Rocket Lab, AST SpaceMobile, and EchoStar its top three holdings, together accounting for that nearly 30% of the fund. In the Procure Space ETF, those same three stocks are the sixth-, eighth-, and fifth-largest holdings, respectively. The Roundhill fund is making a much bigger, concentrated bet on those specific names.

Then there's the Ark Space & Defense Innovation ETF (ARKX) from Cathie Wood's Ark Invest. As the name implies, it's not a pure space play. It blends space companies with defense contractors. The overlap with MARS is minimal; only Rocket Lab appears in the top 10 of both funds.

So, if you're an investor looking at the space theme, you now have a choice: a more diversified pure-play (UFO), a blended space-and-defense approach (ARKX), or a new, concentrated pure-play that's betting heavily on its top picks and offers a side door to SpaceX (MARS). The space race, it seems, is also an ETF race.