When the SpaceX Falcon Heavy launched on its maiden test flight from Florida in February, it was packing more thrust than any rocket since the mighty Saturn V, which sent astronauts to the moon.

At the wheel of its payload — a Tesla roadster owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — was a space-suited mannequin named Starman. For a few hours, remote cameras beamed down live pictures of the jaunty driver and his red car as they sped on an orbital path that will take him beyond Mars.