As the countdown begins, Falcon Heavy is preparing itself for it’s mission to mars. The Falcon Heavy is the most powerful rocket in operation in the world today, and its cargo today is a cherry red Roadster from Tesla. The goal of SpaceX is to send people to mars; but for now, the car will do an elliptical orbit around the sun that extends as far out as Mars.

One of the challenges would be the take off. Secondly, the boosters landing back on Earth within the designated areas, and Van Allen radiation belts will be a challenge. The Van Allen belts could cause electrical glitches.

The Falcon Heavy for now would haul cargo for NASA to the International Space Station and place communications satellites in orbit, but the aim would be to go beyond that.  They are hoping to take astronauts to the moon soon and one day ultimately reach their goal Mars.

Written by Iris Arden (Ramon Inc.)

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/science/falcon-heavy-spacex-launch.html