Tesla car Roadster is in space. But do you know WHERE it is right now?

SpaceX, the aerospace company founded by Elon Musk, made history on February 6, 2018, with the launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket. What made this particular launch even more unique and captured the world's imagination was the payload - Elon Musk's own cherry-red Tesla Roadster.

This was a big milestone not only for SpaceX but for space exploration as a whole. But do you know what is the current location of this space car?

The current location is "is 62,730,425 miles (100,954,865 km, 0.675 AU, 5.61 light minutes) from Earth, moving away from Earth at a speed of 16,461 mi/h (26,491 km/h, 7.36 km/s)," as checked by WION at 1:37 IST on Saturday (May 25), 2024. This location is as per a tracker named "WhereisRoadster".

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It is interesting to note that in the car is Starman, a mannequin wearing a SpaceX spacesuit and positioned in the driver's seat of the Tesla Roadster. Starman,equipped with sensors represents the potential for human space exploration and its adventurous spirit.

It was launched "6 years, 3 months, 18 days, 11 hours, 22 minutes and 11 seconds" back (as checked at the time of writing this).

As the Falcon Heavy roared to life and lifted off from Kennedy Space Center's historic Launch Complex 39A in Florida, this sleek electric sports car soared into the cosmos and started drifting through space, with Earth as a backdrop.

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By sending a payload into deep space, SpaceX was able to test the Falcon Heavy's capabilities in delivering payloads to destinations beyond Earth's orbit, such as Mars.

"The car is 220,623,655 miles (355,059,466 km, 2.373 AU, 19.74 light minutes) from Mars, moving away from the planet at a speed of 8,538 mi/h (13,740 km/h, 3.82 km/s). The car is 107,530,103 miles (173,052,980 km, 1.157 AU, 9.62 light minutes) from the Sun, moving away from the star at a speed of 14,657 mi/h (23,588 km/h, 6.55 km/s)," as per the tracker.

The car boasts a fuel efficiency equivalent to 25,122.1 miles per gallon, based on an estimated consumption of 126,000 gallons of fuel.

Starman listening to 'Is There Life On Mars?'

If its battery were still operational, Starman, seated within, would have indulged in David Bowie's "Space Oddity" a staggering 624,700 times in one ear and "Is There Life On Mars?" 841,757 times in the other.

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Since its launch, Starman has completed approximately 4.1280 orbits around the Sun. Observing it from Earth requires a colossal telescope roughly 14,816 ft (4,516 m) in diametre.

The Roadster's journey is equal to traversing all of the world’s roads for 79.2 times.

(With inputs from agencies)