NASA identifies asteroid as Elon Musk's car from SpaceX launch

In January 2025, astronomers identified an object near Earth, believed to be an asteroid, designated 2018 CN41. This object created significant concern as it came within 240,000 km of Earth, sparking fears of a potential collision, given it was closer than the Moon's orbit. However, the Minor Planet Center clarified that this was not an asteroid, but rather the Tesla Roadster launched by Elon Musk in 2018 during the inaugural flight of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. The agency announced the retraction of the asteroid designation, confirming that the object closely matched the path of the Falcon Heavy's upper stage with the car attached. Initially, the discovery was made by an amateur astronomer who was thrilled to identify a near-Earth object but became skeptical after reviewing its orbit. Collaboration with other astronomers led to the conclusion that the identified object was indeed a man-made satellite traveling around the Sun with a mannequin driver named 'Starman'. As noted by Musk at the time of the launch, choosing to send a car into space rather than a traditional payload was intended to be a fun and unconventional publicity stunt, highlighting that the world of aerospace should be engaging and imaginative rather than mundane. This incident illustrates the intersection of popular culture and space exploration, reflecting both public fascination with innovative endeavors and potential concerns regarding space debris and its implications for future missions.