SpaceX is really sending CEO Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster to space, as proven by pictures taken of the electric vehicle being mounted into the Falcon Heavy rocket.
Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla, previously teased that he would send his personal Tesla Roadster to the Mars orbit before later retracting his statement. However, it appears that the plan is pushing through after all.
SpaceX Falcon Heavy To Send Tesla Roadster To Mars Orbit
In early December, Musk tweeted that the payload of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy, which will launch in January, will include his own midnight cherry Tesla Roadster. Musk added that the electric vehicle will be playing "Space Oddity" by David Bowie while heading into space, where it will be floating for about a billion years if it does not explode on the way up.
Musk later backtracked his statement, but new pictures released by SpaceX through Twitter reveal that the plan is still on. The images show one of the new Tesla Roadsters being prepared on a large cone within the Falcon Heavy. The mount should keep the electric vehicle steady while the Falcon Heavy launches its maiden flight, even though Musk has said that there is a good chance that the rocket will not make it to orbit.
However, if the maiden Falcon Heavy launch goes well, the midnight cherry Tesla Roadster will be delivered into an orbit that will bring it very close to Mars. The electric vehicle will not actually land on Mars, quelling any dream scenarios that the first men to set up a colony on the Red Planet will be able to drive it.
Why does Musk want to send the luxury electric vehicle to space? He had this to say:
I love the thought of a car drifting apparently endlessly through space and perhaps being discovered by an alien race millions of years in the future
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 2, 2017
SpaceX Falcon 9 vs Falcon Heavy
Some may be confused between SpaceX's two rockets, the Falcon 9 and the Falcon Heavy.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 launched on Dec. 22 to release 10 satellites into the Earth's orbit. The trail it left behind, however, was glowing so brightly across the skies of Southern California that people thought it was a UFO. Photographer Jesse Watson was able to capture the amazing sight in a Falcon 9 time-lapse.
Meanwhile, the Falcon Heavy is the follow-up to the Falcon 9. SpaceX plans to use the powerful rocket for future missions to the moon and Mars.
