Elon Musk's first generation Tesla Roadster is now on its way to Mars, thanks to getting a lift into outer space onboard the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The cherry red roadster also has a companion in the driver's seat, "Starman," who's listening over and over again to David Bowie's Space Oddity. "Don't Panic!", taken from The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is written on the infotainment screen. It all sounds so nerdy, but in a ridiculously cool way.
Despite Musk's Twitter statements stating the Roadster is heading to "Mars Orbit and then the Asteroid Belt," scientists believe otherwise. According to Live Science, giant space rocks are not the Roadster's biggest problem. Radiation is. William Carroll, an Indiana University chemist and molecular expert, believes that without the protection of Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field, the non-metal components of the Roadster will literally be torn apart by radiation. "All of the organics will be subjected to degradation by the various kinds of radiation that you will run into there," Carroll said. "Those organics, in that environment, I wouldn't give them a year."
Fortunately so far, the Tesla Roadster survived the blast of radiation it received as it ventured out of Earth's orbit. Basically, within a year give or take, the car will very probably be stripped down to its bare metal. Even the remaining metal won't look all that familiar due to micrometeoroids that will no doubt strike its surface. Another scientist interviewed for the article mostly agrees with Carroll, but thinks it is possible for the Tesla to survive a bit longer than a year. However, it could come to an end in an instant if a larger asteroid were to make a direct hit.
