SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has released images of the all-electric sports car that he is planning to send to Mars. The Tesla Roadster will be the first payload of SpaceX's new Falcon Heavy rocket.
In new photos that Musk posted on Instagram, a Tesla Roadster is seen being prepared for launch at SpaceX headquarters. The red sports car, which is destined for the red planet, is shown on top of the launch mount inside the nosecone of the Falcon Heavy.
In the caption, Musk explained why they decided to send a car into space. Since first flights are very unpredictable — as the launch could end up in an explosion — test runs of a new rocket usually contain mass stimulators such as concrete or steel blocks.
"That seemed extremely boring. Of course, anything boring is terrible, especially companies, so we decided to send something unusual, something that made us feel," he said.
Thus, an original Tesla Roadster will be on board the new Falcon Heavy rocket during its first demonstration, which is scheduled for January 2018.
Musk first announced plans to send an original Tesla Roadster into space on Dec. 1.
"Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn't blow up on ascent," he said on Twitter.
At the time, most people were not sure if the billionaire businessman was serious about such plans. Now, it's clear that Musk was not joking at all and that preparation for the launch demonstration is running full speed ahead.
SpaceX has not announced a launch date for the Falcon Heavy but anticipation for the upcoming event has been building. According to the aerospace company, the Falcon Heavy is the "world's most powerful rocket" with the ability to lift over 119,000 pounds into orbit. It is a more powerful version of SpaceX's Falcon 9 as it is equipped with a strengthened rocket core and two additional cores as strap-on boosters.
The ultimate goal of the Falcon Heavy is to be able to send humans to space with possible missions to the Moon or Mars.
