What Happened to SpaceX’s Starman? Hello, ladies and gentlemen. In 2018,
SpaceX, led by visionary Elon Musk, made history with a Falcon Heavy launch that
captured the world's imagination. A sleek, powerful rocket,
the Falcon Heavy, stood ready. At its helm: not a satellite, but a cherry-red Tesla Roadster,
with a mannequin named "Starman" at the wheel. This launch marked a milestone. The Falcon Heavy,
a true powerhouse, with 27 engines, opened doors to more ambitious missions.
The Tesla? A symbol of human innovation and audacity, a reminder that even in
complex fields, creativity has a role. And Starman? Not a real astronaut, but a poignant
symbol of human potential in space exploration. This car’s stereo played Bowie's "Space Oddity".
Do you know the song? Let us know in the comments below!
The mission, with its unexpected payload,
showed that space exploration is for everyone, blending science with wonder and inspiration.
But where is the vehicle now? And what happened to it? Curious to find out?
--- Interesting Facts
In the vast expanse of space, a car named Starman continues its journey, floating gracefully against
the backdrop of the cosmos. It now resides more than 47 million miles away from Earth,
a distance that seems unfathomable to the human mind. With every passing moment, it moves further
away from our home planet, traversing the endless void at a speed of 8.6 miles
per hour. Wouldn’t you feel lonely out there? But don’t worry. Unlike you, Starman was born
to break Earth’s boundaries. Its destination lies beyond our planet. Right now, it is headed towards
the enigmatic planet Mars, positioned 269,957,698 miles away. An incredible feat, considering the
vastness of space and the vast distances it must cover. Its velocity intensifies, propelling it
forward at a stunning speed of 16,090 miles per hour. That’s the fastest Tesla you have ever seen!
Yet, the car's aspirations reach farther still. Throughout its astounding journey,
Starman has far exceeded its original warranty. A staggering 78,202.4 times, it has surpassed the
36,000-mile mark while encircling the Sun. The overall car's journey around this blazing ball
of fury spans an astonishing distance of almost 2 billion miles! Can you believe it? Completing
an orbit in approximately 557 days, Starman dances gracefully in the celestial ballet.
The car has consumed 126,000 gallons of fuel, allowing it to continue exploring
the cosmos and defying the limits of what we once thought possible.
Eternally serenaded by the sweet melodies of humanity, Starman has listened to the
timeless classic "Space Oddity" by David Bowie an astounding 566,285 times. Its other ear has been
entranced by the haunting question posed in "Is there Life On Mars?" by the same legendary artist,
played 763,045 times. These songs have become the soundtrack to Starman's odyssey,
echoing through the silent expanse of space. That is certainly a way to feel less alone.
Having completed 3.7420 orbits around the Sun since its illustrious launch, Starman has
become a celestial nomad. Had it been on Earth, the vehicle would have traveled far enough to
drive all of the world’s roads more than 70 times. A telescope about 11,176 ft (3,406 m) in diameter
is required to resolve the Upper stage from Earth. A smaller one could see Starman as an
unresolved dot, about 21.5 ft (6.5 m) in diameter, in ideal conditions. However, it is more difficult
than that, and I will soon tell you why. But first, where exactly is it located right now?
--- Location
As of today, our vehicle is in the Pisces constellation. Ever heard of it?
Pisces constellation lies in the northern sky. Its name means “the fish” (plural)
in Latin. Image.png
Pisces, one of the largest constellations in the sky, was first recorded by the Greek
astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. It is not only home to Starman at the moment,
but also houses a variety of fascinating celestial objects. An example of this is the
captivating face-on spiral galaxy known as M74, which can be observed within this constellation.
Situated approximately 32 million light-years away from Earth, it is best
viewed during November. M74 serves as a prime illustration of a grand-design spiral galaxy,
boasting symmetrical spiral arms adorned with winding dust lanes. These arms are dotted
with clusters of young, blue stars and pink regions where the hydrogen clouds have been
ionized by the youthful stars' ultraviolet light, causing them to emit a radiance.
However, the most intriguing feature of this constellation is Arp 284 – a pair
of interacting galaxies positioned 100 million light-years distant from Earth.
It is fascinating to consider that in the distant future, during a time when the Andromeda and Milky
Way galaxies draw near, observers situated 100 million light-years away from us will
perceive our galactic interaction as resembling that of Arp 284. Truly astounding, isn't it?
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Distance from Earth Contrary to popular belief,
the adventures of our Tesla Roadster are far from over! There is still plenty to discuss
regarding the current whereabouts of the red car. Not only is it floating in space,
but it is also following a precise heliocentric orbit. This information has been confirmed by
Space X experts, although curious astronomers can verify it themselves if they so desire.
With the help of a telescope, one could venture out at night to track the vehicle
and record its brightness on multiple occasions. By having knowledge of the size and reflectivity
coefficient of Starman's car, it would be possible to calculate its distance from Earth. Consistently
performing this task night after night would yield a chart resembling the one provided here
The chart displays the car's distance from Earth, measured in astronomical units,
on the vertical axis, while the horizontal axis represents time. An interesting observation to
note is that at the time of launch, indicated by the bottom left corner,
the car's distance from Earth was zero, as Starman was still on our home planet. However,
after a few months, the car managed to travel an astonishing distance of 2.5 astronomical
units. Comparatively, Mars is approximately 1.52 astronomical units away from the Sun!
The journey of the Roadster is truly remarkable, featuring periods when it comes into close
proximity to Earth, as well as extended periods of great distance. These patterns
allow astronomers to confirm the shape of the car's orbit, which is quite astonishing in itself.
--- Starman’s Light Curve
Once an object is launched into the solar system, it can be classified as a Sun’s satellite,
and there’s not much difference between a car and a small asteroid:
if observed from the Earth, they really look alike! This is true for the Tesla Roadster,
which, when observed through a telescope, can easily be mistaken for an asteroid. Although the
Roadster does not emit its own light, it reflects sunlight just like an asteroid would. As a result,
the car can only be seen through long exposures of the sky in its vicinity. By collecting and
examining the reflected light over an extended period, astronomers can observe very dim objects,
much like filling a bucket with water. The longer the bucket is kept under a water flow,
the more it fills up. Similarly, the longer the telescope observes the Tesla Roadster, the more
light it captures and reveals about the car. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of studying
the Roadster is the ability to create a "light curve" for the car, similar to what can be done
for any other asteroid. By tracking the car's brightness at specific times and plotting these
points on a graph, a visual representation of its light curve can be constructed. This allows
astronomers to analyze the car's behavior as it travels through the solar system.
The provided chart displays the predicted light curve of the SpaceX Roadster,
based on the most recent data. The magnitude data for the car was sampled every two days, with some
potential inaccuracies due to rapid changes in brightness over short periods. Astronomers
study this kind of plots to get information about comets. Only, when dealing with comets,
there may be significant discrepancies between the observed and predicted brightness levels
due to their highly dynamic nature. For instance, when they get close to the Sun,
comets tend to eject a lot of material out of their surface, so that they can
undergo crazy changes in magnitude. Anyway, there’s one last question we
need to answer: is there any unfortunate chance for Starman to, one day, collide with the Earth?
--- Collision Risk
New research suggests that there is only a small chance of Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster, which was
launched into space in 2018, colliding with Earth or any other planet in the solar system.
The study, conducted by a team of researchers from Cornell University and soon to be submitted to the
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, analyzed the potential collision probabilities
between the Tesla and various celestial bodies. According to the research, there is just a
six percent chance that the Tesla will collide with Earth within the next one million years.
This probability increases to 11 percent within the next three million years. However, even in the
worst-case scenario, the researchers predict that the car will either burn up upon re-entry into the
Earth's atmosphere or only a component of the car will reach the surface. In other words, the risk
of the car causing significant damage or posing a threat to humans is considered extremely low.
The calculations were made by fast-forwarding the Tesla's orbit and the orbits of the planets over
time, simulating multiple scenarios to determine the likelihood of collisions. Apart from the
chance of colliding with Earth, the researchers also found a 2.5 percent probability of collision
with Venus in the next one million years. However, they believe that the odds of a collision with
Mars or any other planet are minimal. In fact, over a period of three million years,
only one collision with the Sun was observed. The Tesla's first close approach to Earth
is expected to occur in 2091, and there is a 50 percent chance that it will continue to orbit for
several tens of millions of years before colliding with a planet or ultimately being pulled into the
Sun's gravitational pull. Therefore, in the short term, the car is expected to venture further into
space, with Mars being its next destination. In conclusion, the likelihood of Elon Musk's
Tesla Roadster causing any harm to Earth or any other planet in the solar system is deemed to be
very low. The research indicates that the car will likely burn up upon re-entry or only a small part
will reach the surface if a collision were to occur. With the car's future trajectory taking
it away from Earth, scientists advise against panic and assure that the possibility of any
catastrophic event is highly improbable. ---
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