Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster just whizzed past Mars

[Frank W]

Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster just whizzed past Mars
By Trevor MoggOctober 7, 2020 5:30PM PST


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Remember Starman? No, not the Bowie song, but the mannequin passenger sat behind the wheel of Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster that blasted into space aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy on the rocket’s maiden test flight back in 2018. Yes, thatStarman.

Well, Starman made its first close approach to Mars on Wednesday — something the commercial space transportation company wanted the world to know about.

“Starman, last seen leaving Earth, made its first close approach with Mars today — within 0.05 astronomical units, or under 5 million miles, of the Red Planet,” SpaceX announced in a tweet.

Starman, last seen leaving Earth, made its first close approach with Mars today—within 0.05 astronomical units, or under 5 million miles, of the Red Planet pic.twitter.com/gV8barFTm7
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 7, 2020

For those with a fuzzy memory, the spacesuit-clad mannequin and Tesla Roadster sports car functioned as the Falcon Heavy’s payload for the rocket’s very first outing in February 2018.


https://www.digitaltrends.com/news/elon-musks-tesla-roadster-just-whizzed-past-mars/

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[Crissa]

I hope someone will be able to put a camera close enough to get a good look at it soon. The material degredation in interplanetary space would be fascinating!

-Crissa

 

[Dids]

Now that we are talking about space, I have a question. You know how they say Mars is cold as hell? But does it feel cold? It's pretty dry. And also it has a thin atmosphere so -40 probably feels like a balmy 60 spring day!
While you are at it... Why do movies show space as sucking heat out rapidly. Isn't the only method of heat loss radiation. Shouldn't that be a really slow process?

 

[Kamin]

Radiant heat transfer rate varies with a delta-t to the 4th power so while radiant transfer is slow it ramps up quickly as the temperature difference increases. Still way slower than the movies would have you believe.

 

[Dids]

Radiant heat transfer rate varies with a delta-t to the 4th power so while radiant transfer is slow it ramps up quickly as the temperature difference increases. Still way slower than the movies would have you believe.

Mmm. So how cold is space... Shouldn't vacuum be near 0 kelvin so you are saying that because the temp difference between human body and space is so vast the human body glows brighter and sheds heat via radiation more rapidly?

 

[Crissa]

Mmm. So how cold is space... Shouldn't vacuum be near 0 kelvin ...

Well, it's not, since we are near a star which has a certain amount of particle pressure. Even in interstellar space, there are photons and atoms racing about, and they have energy. So it's hard to find 0 Kelvin even in intergalactic space.

The amount of heat you can radiate is a net function: Heat radiated minus heat absorbed. And even in the shadow of the Earth in orbit, that base level of 'heat' outside - while very cold by our standards - still exists. And it's that gap that makes for how much heat a body can lose.

Human bodies can also outgas, and lose heat that way, beyond radiant loss. And we're made up of molecules, which can fit into lower energy state modes in lower pressure, so we can lose heat in expansion, too. And that changes out surface area and radiant losses and...

-Crissa