Hearing “Elon Musk” and “emotional” in the same sentence doesn’t make much sense, unless you insert “is not” in between them. But on Monday, the SpaceX founder tweeted his highly anticipated Falcon Heavy simulation and honestly, it might leave you misty eyed.
“Falcon Heavy sends a car to Mars,” Musk writes coolly on his account. He didn’t have to say much else — the video, set to David Bowie’s “Life on Mars,” speaks volumes all by itself.
For Bowie fans, space enthusiasts, and the very large swath of people in the middle of that venn diagram, the animation is a short, poignant tribute to a big rocket’s tremendous journey — and of course, the late “Starman” himself. We get to watch the colossal cruiser blast off at the Kennedy Space Center, traverse Earth’s orbit, and part with its payload — Elon Musk’s midnight cherry Tesla Roadster.
The last few seconds of the three-minute, 26-second long video are arguably the best. We see the Tesla zip make its way toward its final destination in Mars’ orbit, which feels oddly poetic when juxtaposed with the coda of Bowie’s song. For the first time in the seven-year saga of this mission, it finally feels like it’s time for this rocket to fly.
Musk started teasing the video a few nights ago in the curt, cryptic style tweeting he’s known for:
As evidenced by the final product, it was worth the wait. Even though SpaceX still has to launch its gargantuan rocket successfully, there’s something very hopeful about watching that cherry red car fly toward Mars, like a moth to a gigantic flame — except it’s a $200,000 sports car in the vacuum of space.
Still poignant, though. We’ll be watching with very eager — and hopefully, dryer eyes — on Tuesday.
