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Elon Musk Sent A Car Into Space Towards Mars In A Successful SpaceX Launch

byKrishna Tanna
7th February 2018
3 minute read

I don’t know about you, but philosophical questions like the purpose of life, the history of this universe, the existence of other galaxies, etc. have plagued me ever since I was an adolescent. Then I read Douglas Adams’ and he said, and I quote,

“The chances of finding out what’s really going on in the universe are so remote, the only thing to do is hang the sense of it and keep yourself occupied.”

So that’s what I did – kept myself occupied. Until yesterday.

South African-American inventor, the product architect of Tesla and CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, successfully launched the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Rocket on its maiden space voyage on February 6, 2018.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Be3LP4Dg3GT/?taken-by=elonmusk

Hundreds and thousands of people watched the feat online and in person as the rocket took off in Cape Canaveral, Florida. By now, there is a cherry-red Roadster orbiting the Earth, on its way to Mars. With a dummy astronaut that Elon calls ‘Starman’.

Yes, I’ll wait while it all sinks in.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BezcvpzAgYI/?taken-by=elonmusk

The animation video that Musk posted on his Twitter was a preview of how the actual launch would look like. And since the red Tesla is headed for the red planet Mars, it seems only fair that the old classic song “Life on Mars” by David Bowie was the background the score.

“Oh man, wonder if he’ll ever know, he’s in the best selling show, is there life on Mars?”

– David Bowie, Life On Mars

If you don’t want to watch the whole webcast, here’s a quick view of the rocket’s maiden launch in under a minute.

 

If the classic song reference to make our hearts beat faster and swell with joy wasn’t enough, Musk even made sure to follow the rules of hitchhiking in space as laid out by sci-fi master – Douglas Adams. Rules, you ask? Well, yes. Two most important rule of being a hitchhiker:

  1. Don’t Panic.
  2. Carry a towel.

Elon Musk stayed true to the text of space travel, although written decades ago, holds true today. He shared a picture of the current view from the Roadster, taken by the cameras attached to the Tesla.

 

See the ‘Don’t Panic’ sticker on the dashboard? That’s following Rule #1. As for Rule #2, he confirmed the arrangement of a towel in the glove box back in December 2017. For those who don’t know, you can read about the importance of the towel here.

Image Source

Needless to say, fans of both Adams and Bowie are losing their minds at the genius that is Elon Musk’s space Mars mission. Even the people who didn’t know the references were awed by the Tesla itself. Twitter was lit with their reactions and I’ll let you see it for yourself now.

1. Elon has already confirmed there is.

2. British Astronaut Tim calls it the beginning of a new era. On that, we agree.

3. Don’t we all?

4. Even Buzz Aldrin congratulated the SpaceX team for the incredible feat.

5. They will be unquestionably proud.

6. We have a saviour, guys!

7. Couldn’t agree more.

Elon Musk has achieved an undeniably great feat. What makes it even better is that the sign he has on Roadster orbiting space. It says,

https://www.instagram.com/p/Be31IJxgOoK/?taken-by=elonmusk

It doesn’t claim to be sent by his company, himself or any other person. It claims to be sent out there by ‘humans’. If that is not ingenious, I don’t know what is.

I think it’s a good time to be alive in a generation when SpaceX is making history. To conclude, I’d quote Dougals Adams again,

“There is a moment in every dawn when light floats, there is the possibility of magic. Creation holds its breath.”

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