Rahul Somvanshi
When SpaceX launched a Tesla car into space in 2018, few expected it would still be making headlines seven years later. The cherry-red Tesla Roadster, driven by a spacesuit-wearing dummy named Starman, has now traveled 3.5 trillion miles – enough to drive every road on Earth 86.8 times.
Think of the car as taking an endless road trip around the Sun. Just like Earth, it follows an oval-shaped path, but bigger – stretching out past Mars. Each “lap” around the Sun takes about 557 days, and Starman has already completed this journey 4.6 times.
The car has become such a regular part of our solar system that it recently caused a mix-up among sky watchers. Earlier this year, astronomers spotted what they thought was a new asteroid. It turned out to be Musk’s Tesla, prompting them to quickly correct their records.
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When the car first launched, it was playing David Bowie’s song “Space Oddity.” While the car’s electronics were working at launch, Starman would have heard that same song over 698,000 times by now in the harsh space environment.
The website Whereisroadster.com tracks the car’s location, letting anyone check where this unusual space traveler is at any moment. Created by Ben Pearson, the site shows how far the car has come from its original 36,000-mile warranty – it’s now exceeded that by over 97,002 times.
Scientists keeping an eye on the car’s path say it will come relatively close to Earth again in 2091, passing within a couple hundred thousand kilometers from our planet. This future encounter will provide a unique opportunity to observe how the vehicle has fared in its long-term space exposure.
The harsh conditions of space – extreme heat, cold, and radiation – are typical challenges for any object traveling through our solar system. Even in these conditions, this Tesla continues to help astronomers track and understand how human-made objects move through space.
