Recently, a near-Earthly object classified as an asteroid has been identified as the Tesla Roadster of Elon Musk, which was launched in space in 2018 in a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in 2018. The object was listed on 2 January as a new close aspiring asteroid by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) of the International Astronomical Union, on 2 January, before the classification was withdrawn within hours. Using publicly available data underlines an error by an amateur astronomer in Turkey, trekking of space debris and increasing concerns over its impact on astronomical comments.
Identity error and return
According For Astronomy.com, the object was initially recorded under the designation 2018 CN41 in the Database of MPC. The classification was based on historical tracking data, but after a review, the search was canceled only 17 hours later. The astronomer who reported the object recognized the mistake on further analysis.
Tesla Roadster was launched on 6 February 2018 as a test payload for the first flight of Falcon Heavy, SpaceX. There was an effigy stationed in the driver’s seat called “Starman”, which was prepared in a prototype spacesuit. The purpose of the car was to enter a stable orbit around the Mars, but instead settled in a heliosantric orbit, passing by Earth and Mars from time to time.
Implications for space tracking
Jonathan McDowel, an astronomer at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told Astronomy.com is becoming more frequent identity of man -made items as natural space bodies. He warned that such mistakes could lead to significant financial losses, saying that the worst situation was that a billion dollar was spent starting a space check to study an asteroid, only it feel To do that when you reach there it is not an asteroid.
Over the years, many spacecrafts and renounced rocket boosters are temporarily classified as asteroids. Among them are the Rosetta spacecraft of the European Space Agency, Lucy Investigation of NASA and European-Japanese Bepicolumbbo mission. With the increasing number of space missions, experts estimate that mistakes will become more normal.
Lack of rules on deep space debris
As ReportsSpace agencies and private companies need to track satellites and debris in the Earth’s orbit. However, no regulatory structure makes it mandatory to track the objects that have gone beyond the gravity of the Earth, such as Tesla Roadster. A 2024 statementThe American Astronomical Society called for transparency in tracking space items to reduce interference with scientific comments and prevent potential conflicts. With a rapid in space exploration, concern over or wrongly increases concern over objects, strengthening the need for strict monitoring and classification system.
