20 Weirdest Things Sent Into Space

10. Golf club

In 1971, the Apollo 14 mission made another amazing landing on the moon. Near the end of the walk across the moon’s surface, astronaut Alan Shepard informed Mission Control that he “happened to have” a golf club and a few balls. He then proceeded to play a little golf on the moon’s surface, sending one ball soaring for miles.

9. Family Portrait

In April 1972, the youngest person to walk on the moon, Charles Duke wanted the universe to know he was there. Duke left a transparent foil packet with a photograph of his family on the surface of the moon. He also took a photo of the portrait as it laid on the moon surface to prove to those back home that he had left the photo there.

8. The Wright Brothers’ Flyer

Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 1903 marks the date the Wright brothers made their first successful flight. This momentous occasion not only marked the beginning of air travel, it also made way for space travel. A piece of wood and fabric from the original craft has been on many space flights, the first being the lunar module of Apollo 11 in 1969.

7. Coke or Pepsi

Coke and Pepsi have always been cola rivals. That war eventually made its way to space with each company developing a can and product that could be used in zero gravity. When the Challenger made its orbit in 1985, four cans of each product was sent for the crew to test while in space. The crew hated both brands.

6. Salami pizza

In 2000, Pizza Hut sponsored the Russian space agency and placed their logo on the side of an unmanned Proton rocket that flew to the ISS. The following year, they had a six-inch salami and cheese pizza delivered to the ISS crew. Pepperoni was not an option since previous tests showed by Pizza Hut showed that it turned mouldy in space. The pizza was then microwaved by cosmonaut Yuti Usachov, after playing with the pie in zero gravity and then consuming it, he gave it a thumbs-up.

5. Buzz Lightyear

Space icon Buzz Aldrin was the inspiration for Disney’s character Buzz Lightyear. However, the character, being a toy, never actually went into space. That all changed in 2008. The action figure was launched into space on the Discovery and spent 450 days at the ISS.

4. Commercials in space

On June 12, 2008, radars that are normally used to study Earth’s upper atmosphere, were redirected for 6 hours to send a signal out into space. This signal was a commercial for Doritos tortilla chips. This 30-second commercial was sent to the solar system in the Ursa Major constellation. This solar system contains what is believed to be a habitable zone, 42 light years away. Doritos is hoping there is life that may wish to buy their popular chips.

3. Craigslist ads

In 2005, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster added a box to the posting page on the site that allowed users to opt-in to have their listing sent to space. Over 100,000 ads were sent out by a group called Deep Space Communications Network. This option allows any aliens who enjoy kittens to respond to the ad “Free kittens to a good home”.

2. Tesla Roadster

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, tweeted out “Apparently, there is a car in orbit around the Earth.” In early 2018, the engineer launched a Tesla Roadster into space and set it in orbit around the Earth. The vehicle is being “driven” by an empty space suit. It was launched on the Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket in operation.

1. Gene Roddenberry

Gene Roddenberry was the creative force behind the television serious Star Trek. This science fiction series inspired many children of that era to reach for the stars. Some became astronauts, actors, or went on to create many of the futuristic instruments used in the series. On October 24, 1991, Gene Roddenberry passed away. To celebrate the man and memorialize him the best way possible, part of his ashes were launched into space on the Columbia in 1992.

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Well there you go, there’s our listicle of the 20 weirdest things sent into space. Many of the weirdest things sent into space where done so with actual research in mind, however, not all of these things were sent in the interest of science. Many of the weird objects sent to space were marketing ploys or just for fun. Either way, it is interesting to see the things that have left the atmosphere.