SpaceX launch: Elon Musk shows Tesla car that will be shot on Falcon Heavy rocket and spend billions of years in space

'I love the thought of a car drifting apparently endlessly through space and perhaps being discovered by an alien race millions of years in the future'

Elon Musk has revealed the car he is about to shoot into space on one of the most powerful rockets ever made.

The SpaceX and Tesla boss will combine both of his interests this week when he fires his company's new rocket, the Falcon Heavy. to carry a payload into orbit far outside the Earth. That payload will combine both of his interests, since it will include the brand new Tesla Roadster – a cherry red version that apparently belonged to Mr Musk himself.

But he has now revealed more about the strange objects the rocket will carry with it. They'll also include a dummy, wearing a prototype SpaceX suit, sitting in the front of the car.

The suit is one of the SpaceX suits that was teased last year – and will eventually hold people in a protective wrapper in case of problems when they SpaceX carries them away from Earth. But it's not clear whether it will actually be tested out or used during the flight, or if the inclusion is simply another publicity stunt.

Mr Musk appeared to call the dummy in the car "starman". He also revealed other details of the mission – like the fact the car appears to be kitted out with a range of cameras, and has a tiny version of itself sitting on the dashboard.

The car will be playing another David Bowie song – apparently for billions of years, or until the car's battery goes flat.

"Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing ‘Space Oddity’," Mr Musk tweeted when he announced the strange payload. "Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years or so if it doesn’t blow up on ascent."

In another post, he explained why he had decided to send an expensive car up as the largely ceremonial payload. "I love the thought of a car drifting apparently endlessly through space and perhaps being discovered by an alien race millions of years in the future," he wrote.

While the payload is getting much of the attention in advance of the flight, the real test is the Falcon Heavy rocket that will carry it. It will be the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V, twice as powerful as most rockets being used today, and could eventually carry humans into deep space.