Devil Dawg

A Real Tesla Roadster Has Been Drifting Through Space Since 2018.

On February 6, 2018, SpaceX launched the first Falcon Heavy rocket on its maiden test flight. Instead of carrying a conventional payload, the rocket sent a cherry-red Tesla Roadster into space with a spacesuit-clad mannequin named "Starman" sitting behind the wheel. The unusual payload was chosen as a fun demonstration of the rocket's capability while avoiding the risk of launching an expensive satellite on a first test flight.

After escaping Earth's gravity, the Roadster entered an elliptical orbit around the Sun that crosses the orbit of Mars. It is not orbiting Earth or Mars, but instead follows its own path around the Sun, making it the first production car ever sent into interplanetary space. Cameras mounted on the rocket transmitted unforgettable views of Starman with Earth fading into the distance before the live broadcast ended a few hours after launch.

The Roadster itself has no scientific instruments and no way to communicate with Earth. Over millions of years, intense solar radiation, extreme temperatures, and impacts from tiny micrometeoroids will gradually break down its materials. Although its exact future orbit cannot be predicted over very long timescales because of gravitational interactions with the planets, simulations suggest it could continue orbiting the Sun for millions of years.