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The black Ellipse depicts the trajectory, while the blue, red and green curves represent the Orbits of Earth, Mars and Venus respectively. The positions of the planets are marked on the date of Departure from Earth and at the date the spacecraft passes at the shortest distance to the respective planet.
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.The surface of Mars is orange-red because it is covered in iron(III) oxide dust, giving it the nickname "the Red Planet". [22] [23] Mars is among the brightest objects in Earth's sky, and its high-contrast albedo features have made it a common subject for telescope viewing.
In English, the planet Mars is named after Mars, the Roman god of war, [1] an association made because of its red color, which suggests blood. [2] The adjectival form of Latin Mars is Martius, [3] from which the English word Martian derives, used as an adjective or for a putative inhabitant of Mars, and Martial, used as an adjective corresponding to Terrestrial for Earth. [4]
[9] [10] This would be a 34-month trip. Shorter Mars mission plans have round-trip flight times of 400 to 450 days, [11] or under 15 months for an opposition-class expedition, but would require significantly higher energy. A fast Mars mission of 245 days (8.0 months) round trip could be possible with on-orbit staging. [12]
Mars 4 failed to enter Mars orbit and flew by it instead. [90] Mars 6: Mars 5 August 1973 12 March 1974 220 days (7 months, 8 days) The Mars 6 bus flew by Mars at a minimum distance of 1600 km. Also carried a lander. [13] Mars 7: Mars 9 August 1973 9 March 1974 213 days (7 months, 1 day) Mars 7's lander was released prematurely and missed Mars ...
Mars 1962A was a Mars flyby mission, launched on October 24, 1962, and Mars 1962B an intended first Mars lander mission, launched in late December of the same year (1962). Both failed from either breaking up as they were going into Earth orbit or having the upper stage explode in orbit during the burn to put the spacecraft into trans-Mars ...
By the period of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, Babylonian astronomers were making systematic observations of the positions and behavior of the planets. For Mars, they knew, for example, that the planet made 37 synodic periods, or 42 circuits of the zodiac, every 79 years. The Babylonians invented arithmetic methods for making minor corrections to ...
Viking 1 was the first of two spacecraft, along with Viking 2, each consisting of an orbiter and a lander, sent to Mars as part of NASA's Viking program. [2] The lander touched down on Mars on July 20, 1976, the first successful Mars lander in history.