The question of Where Tesla Car in Space? May seem impossible to answer. Its orbit isn’t the same forever. In fact, it’ll be subjected to the gravitational pull of other planets and asteroid belts. But what exactly is it doing up in space? Scientists at the University of Toronto Scarborough recently conducted a study to find out. They found that the Tesla could be orbiting the Sun millions of years from now.
Elon Musk’s car was launched into space on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket on Tuesday, where it is currently orbiting Earth. The Roadster is currently cruising around the Earth at 18,000 mph and has been since February 6. The Tesla is currently orbiting in the Van Allen belt, a region of intense radiation that surrounds Earth. The car is expected to travel to Mars in the next 68 years. It will remain there for a long time, as long as it’s not damaged.
While its travel time will be very long, the Tesla Roadster is expected to pass within a few million miles of Mars in 2035. That’s about eight times closer than Earth to Mars. The Roadster will also pass through Venus and Mercury. And then it’ll make two close passes by Earth in 2047 and 2050. The odds of hitting the planets are low compared to the chance of it colliding with Earth.
Whether a meteor or an asteroid caused damage to the Tesla Roadster are responsible for the recent observations, it’s hard to know. But if the car survived, it’s probably still in one piece, with some minor dinged by meteoroids. Since the Roadster has already traveled nearly two billion miles in the past four years, it’s possible that it’s a mere 320 million miles from Mars. While it mostly travels through barren space, it does occasionally come close to celestial objects. In 2020, it’ll make its first pass close to Mars, passing within five million miles of Mars, or about 20 times the distance between Earth and the moon.