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Mars comes closer to Earth more than any other planet save Venus at its nearest—56 million km is the closest distance between Mars and Earth, whereas the closest Venus comes to Earth is 40 million km. Mars comes closest to Earth every other year, around the time of its opposition, when Earth is sweeping between the Sun and Mars. Extra-close ...
Sun–Earth L 1: ESA, NASA: Orbiting near L 1 since 1996. Operational as of 2020. [27] WIND: Sun–Earth L 1: NASA: Arrived at L 1 in 2004 with fuel for 60 years. Operational as of 2019. [28] Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) Sun–Earth L 2: NASA: Arrived at L 2 in 2001. Mission ended 2010, [29] then sent to solar orbit outside L 2. [30]
Also installed during STS-134 was the 15 m (50 ft) Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), which had been used to inspect heat shield tiles on Space Shuttle missions and which can be used on the station to increase the reach of the MSS. [149] Staff on Earth or the ISS can operate the MSS components using remote control, performing work outside the ...
The Close Approach happens every two years, but Tuesday's encounter at 38.6 million miles away will be the closest to Earth that Mars gets until 2035
At their furthest Mars and Earth can be as far as 401 million km (249 million mi) apart. [191] Mars comes into opposition from Earth every 2.1 years. The planets come into opposition near Mars's perihelion in 2003, 2018 and 2035, with the 2020 and 2033 events being particularly close to perihelic opposition. [192] [193] [194]
In some contexts, it is used to refer to interstellar space. The International Telecommunication Union defines deep space to start at a distance of 2 million km (1.2 million mi) (about 0.01 AU) from Earth's surface. NASA's Deep Space Network has variously used
This system is also much more precise: while the Mars Exploration Rovers could have landed anywhere within their respective 93-mile by 12-mile (150 by 20 kilometer) landing ellipses, Mars Science Laboratory landed within a 12-mile (20-kilometer) ellipse. [7] Mars 2020 has even more precise system, and landing ellipse of 7.7 by 6.6 km. [8]
This phase continues using the International Space Station until 2024; validating deep space technologies and studying the effects of long-duration space missions on the human body. The second stage, "Proving Ground," moves away from Earth reliance and ventures into cislunar space for most of its tasks. This is when NASA plans to capture an ...