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If you were to ask us prior to 6 February 2018 if an image of an automobile in space was real, we'd reply, with almost no hesitation, that the photograph was likely a fake. But after that date? Well, there's a chance that we'd be looking at an authentic image of Tesla Roadster. A series of images that seemed too fantastical to be real started making their way around the internet shortly after Elon Musk and his company SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy rocket into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida: These images are real. This Tesla Roadster served as the payload for SpaceX's maiden test of the Falcon Heavy rocket: SpaceX's February launch was just a test run for the Falcon Heavy rocket. As such, the payload didn't have to be anything specific. In December 2010, for instance, Musk launched a wheel of cheese into space during a test flight of the company's Falcon 9 rocket. The Falcon Heavy propelled the Tesla into space with the intention of sending as far as Mars's orbit, but the car overshot its target, heading towards the asteroid belt: The viral images showing a real Tesla Roadster floating through space are actually screenshots of a live feed taken from cameras mounted on the vehicle. The astronaut in the vehicle is actually just a mannequin in a spacesuit dubbed Starman. The live feed is no longer active as of this writing, but you can relive Starman's voyage into space below:
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