Back in 2018 Elon Musk's SpaceX demonstrated the launch system of Falcon Heavy with a successful test flight that also sent Musk's personal 2008 Tesla Roadster into space with a spacesuit-clad mannequin called Starman in the driver's seat. Now, more than two years later, Starman and his cherry red car have made it to Mars. In October, SpaceX shared on social media that Starman had made its first close approach with the Red Planet.

"Starman, last seen leaving Earth, made its first close approach with Mars today—within 0.05 astronomical units, or under 5 million miles, of the Red Planet," read the SpaceX post on Twitter.

The interesting thing here is that SpaceX says that it is the "first close approach" with Mars and, Spaceman is expected to get even closer in the future. According to Ben Pearson, who developed an unofficial tracker for Starman and the Roadster, the Tesla will pass by at a much closer 1.4 million mile distance on April 22, 2035. It'll make its way past Earth in 2047.

When the Roadster will get so close to Mars, don't be expecting any photos to be coming from those close encounters. While there are cameras on both the inside and outside of the vehicle, the vehicle's battery has been long dead. Musk initially estimated the Roadster's battery to last for more than 12 hours, but it only worked for 4, meaning that Starman has just been floating in space in silence ever since.