Image via SpaceX
Some may have forgotten that, seven years ago, Elon Musk launched his personal Tesla Roadster into space. The car is still out there and has drifted back toward Earth, a fact that recently tripped up observers at the Minor Planet Center at the Harvard-Smithsonian. The object briefly caused some confusion among those tracking the skies.
Astronomers initially flagged the returning Roadster as a possible asteroid before realizing what it actually was. The mix-up offers an amusing reminder of just how unusual the car’s journey through space has been. Few vehicles can claim to have been mistaken for a celestial body, making the Roadster’s orbital adventure all the more remarkable.
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