Skip to main content

Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster just whizzed past Mars

 

Remember Starman? No, not the David Bowie song. We’re talking about the mannequin passenger behind the wheel of Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster that blasted into space aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy Rocket on its maiden test flight in 2018.

Recommended Videos

Well, Starman made its first close approach to Mars on Wednesday — something the commercial space transportation company wanted the world to know about.

“Starman, last seen leaving Earth, made its first close approach with Mars today — within 0.05 astronomical units, or under 5 million miles, of the red planet,” SpaceX announced in a tweet.

Starman, last seen leaving Earth, made its first close approach with Mars today—within 0.05 astronomical units, or under 5 million miles, of the Red Planet pic.twitter.com/gV8barFTm7

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 7, 2020

For those with a fuzzy memory, the spacesuit-clad mannequin and Tesla Roadster sports car functioned as the Falcon Heavy’s payload for the rocket’s very first outing in February 2018.

Talking about his Roadster shortly after the rocket blasted skyward — yes, it was Musk’s personal vehicle that wentin  to space — the SpaceX and Tesla CEO admitted that the unusual cargo was “kinda silly and fun,” but added that “silly and fun things are important” because such stunts can generate interest in big projects and inspire others to get involved.

Musk added: “It just has the same seats like a normal car has, it’s literally a normal car, in space … I kinda like the absurdity of that.”

According to the Where is Roadster? website, which continues to track Starman’s journey through deep space, the fastest-moving mannequin in human history is currently 38 million miles from Earth, orbiting the sun once every 557 days or so. The website also notes that, at the time of writing, the vehicle has exceeded its 36,000-mile warranty 36,070 times.

The next time Starman performs a flyby of Mars, three separate missions will have arrived on the Martian surface, with spacecraft from the U.S., China, and the the United Arab Emirates heading there right now for a February 2021 rendezvous with the red planet.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Elon Musk says SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission will be ‘epic.’ Here’s why
The Polaris Dawn Crew Dragon spacecraft as it will look in orbit.

SpaceX chief Elon Musk said on Sunday that the upcoming Polaris Dawn mission will be “epic.”

The highly anticipated mission is targeting Monday, August 26, for liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida> It will power four non-professional astronauts to orbit.

Read more
Elon Musk shares animation showing Starship catch and stack
An animation depicting the landing of SpaceX's Super Heavy booster.

 

The Starship -- comprising the first-stage Super Heavy booster and the upper-stage Starship spacecraft -- is the most powerful rocket ever to fly and could one day carry crew and cargo to the moon, Mars, and perhaps on voyages even farther into deep space.

Read more
Elon Musk shares target date for fifth test of Starship megarocket
SpaceX's Starship rocket leaving the launchpad on Saturday.

SpaceX's Starship, the world's most powerful rocket, on the launchpad. SpaceX

SpaceX chief Elon Musk has said he expects the fifth test of the mighty Starship rocket to take place “in four weeks,” suggesting the vehicle could lift off again in early August.

Read more