Tesla Roadster Rocketing in Space Close to Mars

-

 CEO Elon Musk's Roadster Approaches Mars



                                                            Source:  SpaceX and Tesla

"Starman" Behind the Wheel, Inside a Rocket

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk's red, $100,000 Tesla Roadster had made its closest approach to Mars.  The Roadster driver "Starman", which is a mannequin in a spacesuit, are part of a payload inside the second stage of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.

Colonizing Mars

One of entrepreneur Elon Musk's major goals is to colonize Mars and make all of us an interplanetary civilization. SpaceX says the Falcon Heavy rocket vehicle with the Roadster inside made their first close approach to Mars and was within 5 million miles of the planet.  

Harvard Astronomer Tracking

Harvard astronomer Jonathan Dowell is tracking the journey.  He says the SpaceX spacecraft is in an elliptical orbit around the Sun.  The vehicle is 37 million miles from Earth and has travelled 1.3 billion miles since its launch in 2018.  It will make its closest pass at Earth in 2047 at a distance of 5 million km.

Why Did Elon Musk Put a Roadster into Orbit?

The answer is part showmanship and part science.  Normally, test flights include mass simulators on concrete or steel blocks.  Musk finds that boring.  He says he wanted to do something unusual and chose a red, $100,000 Tesla Roadster and Starman to monitor how they endure the rigors of space.  Starman's spacesuit is also being monitored to determine its durability during this very long multi-decade mission.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Electric Surfboard from Sweden

-
Image
  Surfing With No Waves Needed, Anytime of Year                                                                                Source:  Awake Surfboard Can Hit 36 MPH Sweden-based Awake has developed a powerful electric surfboard that can hit speeds of 36 mph.  It can accelerate from 0 to 30 mph in just 4 seconds.  The Ravik S 22 electric surfboard is able to surf on any body of water any time of year including on snowy winter days.  And, it doesn't need waves to surf! It provides an extreme surfing ride, developed by an award-winning surfboard company. Tech Specs The e-board is powered by a 12-kW brushless motor.  The motor has three speed settings and three throttle sensitivity modes.  It has a wireless speed control system that cuts throttle response time down to .02 seconds.  The quick response time makes it much easier for the surfer to time turns and jumps.  A 1.9-kW battery provides a ride time of 15 to 20 minutes. That version of the board is priced at $15,000. An extended
Read more

Extreme Electric Surfboard

-
Image
  Surfing With No Waves Needed, Anytime of Year                                                                                Source:  Awake Surfboard Can Hit 36 MPH Sweden-based Awake has developed a powerful electric surfboard that can hit speeds of 36 mph.  It can accelerate from 0 to 30 mph in just 4 seconds.  The Ravik S 22 electric surfboard is able to surf on any body of water any time of year including on snowy winter days.  And, it doesn't need waves to surf! It provides an extreme surfing ride, developed by an award-winning surfboard company. Tech Specs The e-board is powered by a 12-kW brushless motor.  The motor has three speed settings and three throttle sensitivity modes.  It has a wireless speed control system that cuts throttle response time down to .02 seconds.  The quick response time makes it much easier for the surfer to time turns and jumps.  A 1.9-kW battery provides a ride time of 15 to 20 minutes. That version of the board is priced at $15,000. An extended
Read more

Electric, New MG Cyberster Sports Car

-
Image
  China's SAIC Revolutionizes the Historic British MG Brand                                              Source:  MG Cyberster Electric MG Sport Car Concept Becomes a Reality The legendary sports car company MG was founded in the 1920's in Oxford, England. It enjoyed a long history of creating iconic MG, 2 seat sports cars. It is now China owned and China based, acquired a few years ago by SAIC Motors.  The new MG has a fabulous concept car the Cyberster.  It's an all electric sports car that was recently introduced at the Shanghai 2021 Motor Show.  MG just announced the vehicle is going from concept and into production.  MG calls it the "world's first purely electric e-sports cockpit".  The design of this electric vehicle is sleek, futuristic and highly styled with a wide grill that is a throwback to the original MGB as are the round headlights that open like eyes when the car is turned on.  It is truly an iconic, all electric sports car. EV Capabilities The
Read more