A PAYLOAD FIT FOR MARS?
In September, SpaceX CEO and founder Elon Musk spoke at the 2017 International Astronautical Congress about his updated plans for Mars. According to the revamped plan’s timetable, SpaceX will send at least two unmanned cargo flights to the Red Planet by 2022, with a manned mission following by 2024.
Earlier this December, Musk tweeted that the payload for SpaceX’s inaugural trip to Mars would be his own original Tesla Roadster. He hinted at his reasoning for choosing the Roadster in another tweet: “I love the thought of a car drifting apparently endlessly through space and perhaps being discovered by an alien race millions of years in the future.” In another post, Musk even promised to show photos soon.
Though most originally assumed this was a joke, speculation grew when a photo posted in a SpaceX subreddit in the late hours of December 21. The photo appears to show a Tesla Roadster sitting on top of what looks like a SpaceX payload attachment.