Mars Orbiter on its way to space

On August 4, 2022, Tesla SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket into space. It carried the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), South Korea’s first lunar observation satellite, into lunar orbit. The satellite, also called SANURI, will orbit the Moon to identify technologies for its exploration as well as potential landing sites for future missions.

On board is a laser-engraved image on a glass plate. It shows the Starman, a dummy in a spacesuit who was launched into space in 2018 at the wheel of Elon Musk’s private roadster during the maiden flight of the Falcon Heavy rocket.

The image is a mosaic, made up of countless individual photos contributed to the mission by Tesla fans around the world. These include the photo of the Mars Orbiter team and the photo from Studio Blåfield. All the images were stored on a memory card and kept in a metal case that Tesla calls a time capsule.

The entire mosaic can be viewed on Tesla’s website; if you’re lucky, you’ll find our photo under the side mirror on the left as you zoom in.