An amateur astronomer spotted an unknown object passing close to Earth earlier this month, passing very closely to Earth. It sparked concerns over a possible collision with the planet after it came within 240,000km of Earth, which is closer than the moon’s orbit.
However, the mystery object turned out to be a Tesla vehicle.
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) quickly retracted the findings after discovering the object was a 2010 Tesla Roadster. Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched the Roadster into space in February 2018 as the dummy payload for the Falcon Heavy’s test flight.
“It was pointed out the orbit matches an artificial object 2018-017A, Falcon Heavy Upper Stage with the Tesla Roadster,” the MPC said in an editorial notice. “The designation 2018 CN41 is being deleted and will be listed as omitted.”
This specific roadster was equipped with a lot of easter eggs before it was sent up. The mannequin driver was named ‘Starman’ after the David Bowie song. Additionally, the words “Don’t Panic!” are written on the entertainment unit in reference to the novel A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (a copy of the book is in the glove compartment). There’s also a plaque on the bottom that lists 6,000 names of SpaceX employees, alongside many more.
According to a site tracking the roadster, the car has completed 4.5765 orbits around the sun since launch, it has travelled far enough to drive on all of the world’s roads 86.2 times, and the stereo has played A Hitchhicker’s Guide to the Galaxy a total of 10,458 times, assuming the battery still works.
The Roadster (a reworked Lotus Elise) was released in 2008 as the first car in Tesla’s lineup until the Model S was released. A second generation of the roadster is in the works, although there have been a number of delays.
Header image credit: SpaceX
Source: Independent
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