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Is it okay to put unnecessary stuff in the orbits around our or other planets? Isn't this space trash that can potentially be problematic for future endeavors?

Is it okay to put unnecessary stuff in the orbits around our or other planets? Isn't this space trash that can potentially be problematic for future endeavors? Are we creating problems for ourselves to satisfy our vanity?

warent 9y ago
Mars is really big relative to a car. You could probably put dozens or hundreds of cars in orbit around Mars without any added difficulty. Anyway I wouldn't normally consider it to be space trash, but in this case it's pretty much just a big Tesla ad billboard orbiting the planet so I agree with you sentiment
- iraphael 9y ago
  Space debris is a huge problem. One car gets hit bit tiny debris at any point, and the number of debris flying around multiplies.
  - bryananderson 9y ago
    Not where it’s going. Space debris is a problem in a small number of high-traffic Earth orbits. There is almost nothing in existence on this random Hohmann transfer solar orbit where the car will live for hundreds of millions of years. Space is big.
Stratoscope 9y ago
It's going into a heliocentric orbit, and people will surely be tracking it. If it gets to be a problem in the future, it will have so much historical value that someone will launch a mission to go fetch the Roadster and bring it home to Mars.
- rhcom2 9y ago
  It's fun to imagine the technology SpaceX might come up with for that mission.
- visarga 9y ago
  I'm wondering if they could make it work after retrieval.
  - hackthisuk 9y ago
    https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/24365/can-i-drive-elon-musks-tesla-after-its-been-in-space-for-100-years https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/24365/can-i-drive-...
gameswithgo 9y ago
the standard cargo for these missions is a chunk of cement. If you want to test a rocket you have to throw something up there. It probably does not add a measurable amount of junk to hit than is already up there in the form of natural rocks. Though if in the future human population hits the quadrillions and we are living on all 8 planets we should probably start worrying about our space trash.

warent 9y ago

Mars is really big relative to a car. You could probably put dozens or hundreds of cars in orbit around Mars without any added difficulty. Anyway I wouldn't normally consider it to be space trash, but in this case it's pretty much just a big Tesla ad billboard orbiting the planet so I agree with you sentiment

iraphael 9y ago
Space debris is a huge problem. One car gets hit bit tiny debris at any point, and the number of debris flying around multiplies.
- bryananderson 9y ago
  Not where it’s going. Space debris is a problem in a small number of high-traffic Earth orbits. There is almost nothing in existence on this random Hohmann transfer solar orbit where the car will live for hundreds of millions of years. Space is big.

Stratoscope 9y ago

It's going into a heliocentric orbit, and people will surely be tracking it. If it gets to be a problem in the future, it will have so much historical value that someone will launch a mission to go fetch the Roadster and bring it home to Mars.

rhcom2 9y ago
It's fun to imagine the technology SpaceX might come up with for that mission.
visarga 9y ago
I'm wondering if they could make it work after retrieval.
- hackthisuk 9y ago
  https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/24365/can-i-drive-elon-musks-tesla-after-its-been-in-space-for-100-years https://space.stackexchange.com/questions/24365/can-i-drive-...

gameswithgo 9y ago

the standard cargo for these missions is a chunk of cement. If you want to test a rocket you have to throw something up there. It probably does not add a measurable amount of junk to hit than is already up there in the form of natural rocks. Though if in the future human population hits the quadrillions and we are living on all 8 planets we should probably start worrying about our space trash.