Rob Verger, assistant tech editor at Popular Science, discusses SpaceX's successful launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket that propelled Elon Musk's red Tesla Roadster into orbit. The release of the car into space has prompted people to ask the question, "what now?"
Verger notes that it will take two and a half years for the rocket to orbit around the sun and end up back where it started from. It will be another five years before we could potentially see it with a telescope.
Verger says the Roadster will face significant deterioration due to radiation and a "sandblasting" of dust that will cause the car to lose its cherry red color. He talks about the vastness of space, noting it's unlikely the car would be destroyed by an asteroid.
The office of Montana’s Republican attorney general is appealing a landmark climate change ruling that said state agencies aren't doing enough to protect 16 young plaintiffs from harm caused by global warming.
A coalition of environmental groups is calling on the federal government to enact emergency rules to protect a vanishing species of whale from lethal collisions with large ships.
