CNN
Four years ago this week, the most powerful operational rocket in the world, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, made its inaugural launch from Florida and tore into outer space carrying nothing other than Elon Musk’s personal Tesla roadster.
The cherry red sports car — which is occupied by a spacesuit-clad mannequin nicknamed “Starman” — is still out there, taking a lonely, oblong orbital path around the sun, traveling as far away as Mars’ orbit and, at other times, as close as Earth’s orbit.
The car is not on some scientific voyage. This was a test launch, so SpaceX needed a dummy payload — and Musk previously said he wanted it to be the “[s]illiest thing we can imagine.” So he picked his own luxurious Tesla roadster.
As of Monday, the roadster was about 234 million miles from Earth and about 200 million miles from Mars, passing through a no-man’s land of outer space, according to the tracking website whereisroadster.com, which uses NASA’s data to keep tabs on the car.
