4 Things to Know about Elon Musk’s Plan to Put Man in Mars
By James Hughes
Here are some facts you need to know about the launch: How Formidable is the Falcon Heavy?Falcon Heavy, the name of the spacecraft, is the most powerful operational rocket in the world today. The rocket has twice the payload capacity of the next most powerful rocket, United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV Heavy.The SpaceX boss, apparently overwhelmed by his creation, did not expect the Falcon Heavy to go far into the orbit. Elon Musk himself said that he’d consider Tuesday’s launch a “win” if the Falcon Heavy rocket makes it “far enough away from the pad that it doesn’t cause pad damage.” Size?Falcon Heavy measures 40 ft wide and has a mass of more than three million pounds. It is 230ft tall.Destination?The Falcon Heavy is designed to carry humans into space- to the moon, and ultimately to Mars. Last year, Elon Musk made it clear that his brainchild’s destination is Mars orbit. However, the Falcon Heavy will not be going to Mars directly yet as it is programmed to spin around the Sun in the space in between Earth and the Red Planet, Mars. Passengers?The spacecraft has an incredible payload capacity. It could carry up to 140,000lbs into low Earth orbit, or 37,000lbs to Mars. This is more than ten fully-grown African elephants into low Earth orbit, and more than 35 grand pianos to Mars.Elon Musk , however, loaded the spacecraft with his own cherry red Tesla Roadster sports car. The car will play David Bowie’s “Space Oddity”, while the launch itself will be set to “Life on Mars,” he tweeted.He wrote: “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.” Why should you care?The Falcon Heavy is the beginning of Musk’s attempt to leave footprints in Mars. His SpaceX has a mission of putting a million Earthlings in Mars by 2062.Discover more from NewsBreakers
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