SpaceX's Epic Road Trip Photos: Starman Rides a Tesla Roadster Across Space

Don't Panic!

SpaceX

This helpful advice is a nod to Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," a favorite of SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk. Musk also said a copy of the book was aboard the car, as well the book series' iconic towel.

Asimov in Space

University of Southampton

In addition to Adams' "A Hitchkiker's Guide to the Galaxy," Starman's Tesla also carried Isaac Asimov's iconic "The Foundation Trilogy" book series. It was part of a data package on an Arch (pronounced "Ark"), a laser optical quartz storage device designed to survive the harsh environment of space. The book series was the original inspiration for the Arch mission.

Made on Earth

SpaceX

SpaceX etched this note on a circuit board inside the Roadster, just in case any aliens, or far-future humans, stumble onto the car.

A Toy Car in Space

SpaceX

Take another look at this photo. See anything on the dashboard? On a lark, SpaceX added a tiny Hot Wheels Tesla Roadster (complete with tiny Starman) on the dash for this flight. "It's silly and fun, but silly and fun things are important," Elon Musk said.

Engine Nozzle

SpaceX

An engine nozzle against the blackness of space.

Meanwhile, Back on Earth...

SpaceX

The Falcon Heavy's two side boosters aced their landings on land at Cape Canaveral; the central core stage narrowly missed its touchdown attempt on a ship at sea.

You Can Track Starman

SpaceX via Twitter

Starman's orbit carries it out beyond the orbit of Mars. You can track the space mannequin and cosmic Tesla at whereisroadster.com, a website created by Ben Pearson, founder of Old Ham Media.

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Space.com Staff
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Space.com is the premier source of space exploration, innovation and astronomy news, chronicling (and celebrating) humanity's ongoing expansion across the final frontier. Originally founded in 1999, Space.com is, and always has been, the passion of writers and editors who are space fans and also trained journalists. Our current news team consists of Editor-in-Chief Tariq Malik; Editor Hanneke Weitering, Senior Space Writer Mike Wall; Senior Writer Meghan Bartels; Senior Writer Chelsea Gohd, Senior Writer Tereza Pultarova and Staff Writer Alexander Cox, focusing on e-commerce. Senior Producer Steve Spaleta oversees our space videos, with Diana Whitcroft as our Social Media Editor.