Photo credit: SpaceX
As we go about our everyday lives on Planet Earth, Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster is currently hurtling into space on its way into orbit to the tune of David Bowie’s Space Oddity.
In pictures that captivated the world, earlier this month we witnessed SpaceX’s rocket, the Falcon Heavy, blast off with Chief Executive Musk’s very own 2008 car strapped to the nose. And boy oh boy was it exciting.
Featuring a dummy called Starman in the driver’s seat, and “Don’t panic!” (a reference from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) stamped on the dashboard, it’s a startling image, and certainly not something you see every day.
As part of a content marketing strategy, this certainly provides an incredible amount of wonderful video footage and acres of interesting stuff to write about.
In fact, we loved it so much that we were inspired to discover what other unusual objects had been hurtled into space… It turns out that it’s not the only unique product that’s been sent to some distant galaxy, far from it.
Below, we’ve identified some of the strange and unusual items that have made their way into the deep unknown…
1. A Golf ball
Back in 1971, Alan Shepard became the first man to hit a golf ball on the Moon, using a ball and golf club he had smuggled inside his space suit aboard Apollo 14. Caught on camera, his second shot he later quoted went “miles and miles and miles”, which, thanks to there being less gravity on the moon’s surface, is entirely possible.
2. Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber
The original lightsaber used by Luke Skywalker in Star Wars flew to the real space station aboard Discovery shuttle-flight mission STS-120 in 2007 to celebrate the franchise’s 30th anniversary. Although never taken out of its locker, the lightsaber spent 14 days in orbit, before it was returned to Star Wars creator George Lucas.
3. A Pizza
Pizza Hut paid nearly £750,000 in 2000 to become the first company to deliver pizza in space – to Russian cosmonaut Yuri Usachov. The vacuum-sealed pizza rode aboard a Russian rocket used to re-supply the International Space Station, and was made six inches in diameter in order to fit into the smaller-sized oven aboard the ISS.
4. A giant disco ball
In January of this year, US start-up Rocket Lab launched a three-foot-wide mirror ball into orbit, fitted with 65 reflective panels. Known as The Humanity Star, it’s supposed to remind us that we’re living “on a rock in a giant Universe”, and reflects the sun’s light in such a way that we can see it from our planet’s surface at night.
5. A Meat and potato pie
In December 2016, a meat and potato pie was sent into space attached to a weather balloon. The aim was to see if its journey up to 100,000ft changed the molecular structure of the pie, making it quicker to eat. Tracking software and a camera on board revealed the pie reached an altitude of 29 miles, before safely returning to earth.
Have we missed anything? What’s your favourite? Let us know by commenting below!
If you fancy sending something to space, sadly we’re not the guys for you, however, if you want your content marketing strategy to take off, you can get in touch for a chat by dropping us an email at info@goldsanddigital.com or calling 020 7287 9233.
To the Galaxy… And beyond!