The Tesla Roadster that billionaire Elon Musk dramatically launched into space earlier this month could contaminate Mars with bacteria. Microbes collected by the electric sports car and its plastic mannequin driver on Earth could survive on the vehicle for millions of years. If the car collides with Mars, bacteria from Earth could wipe out any alien microorganisms that may live on the red planet, researchers claim. The Tesla Roadster that Elon Musk launched into space could contaminate Mars with bacteria. Microbes collected by the electric sports car and its plastic mannequin driver on Earth could survive on the vehicle for millions of years.

New insight has emerged on the contents of Elon Musk's Falcon Heavy, which blasted off from Cape Canaveral earlier this month. The Tesla Roadster is carrying a small disc developed by researchers at the University of Southampton in England. The disc, which looks like a shrunken DVD, is storing information on human knowledge and was designed by a group aiming to preserve history called the Arch Mission Foundation. This includes Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy, a series of science fiction books. A disc made by the Arch Mission Foundation is on board Elon Musk's orbiting Tesla Roadster.