Elon Musk's Nod to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Elon Musk, the head of Space-X announced earlier this week that his private space launch company is planning to send human colonies to Mars in 2023.  If that wasn't cool enough, Musk will be naming the first ship "Heart of Gold", after the ship commandeered by Zaphod Beeblebrox in the Douglas Adams novel, and Walt Disney Pictures sci-fi comedy film, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 

The fictitious ship is powered by a "Improbability Drive" resulting in hilarious side effects.  Musk relates the propulsion system, to the improbability of his company's continued success as a private space launch company. Fans will also appreciate that the Space-X craft will be powered by 42 Raptor engines.  The number 42 figures heavily in the novel/film plot as the answer to the Ultimate Question: What is the meaning of life, the universe, and everything?  This isn't the first time that a real life space ship was named after a famous science fiction starship. NASA named the very first Space Shuttle "Enterprise" after the famous ship from Star Trek.