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The minimum distance between Earth and Mars has been declining over the years, and in 2003 the minimum distance was 55.76 million km, nearer than any such encounter in almost 60,000 years (57,617 BC). The record minimum distance between Earth and Mars in 2729 will stand at 55.65 million km.
On March 1, 1999, the center was officially renamed the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, in honor of John Glenn, who was a fighter pilot, astronaut (the first American to orbit the Earth) and a politician. As early as 1951, researchers at the LFPL were studying the combustion processes in liquid rocket engines. [1]
The selection and training of astronauts are integrated processes to ensure the crew members are qualified for space missions. [6] The training is categorized into five objectives to train the astronauts on the general and specific aspects: basic training, advanced training, mission-specific training, onboard training, and proficiency maintenance training. [7]
Failed to reach the Moon as intended, but reached a record–setting distance of 113,800 kilometres (70,700 mi) from Earth. USA 11 October 1958 Earth: Luna 1: First spacecraft to achieve Earth's escape velocity. USSR 4 January 1959 Moon: Luna 1: First flyby. Distance of 5,995 kilometres (3,725 mi). USSR 4 January 1959 Sun: Luna 1
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]
Substituting the mass of Mars for M and the Martian sidereal day for T and solving for the semimajor axis yields a synchronous orbit radius of 20,428 km (12,693 mi) above the surface of the Mars equator. [3] [4] [5] Subtracting Mars's radius gives an orbital altitude of 17,032 km (10,583 mi). Two stable longitudes exist - 17.92°W and 167.83°E.
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 criteria of 16,000–32,000 km (9,900–19,900 mi) from Earth.
The samples would be returned to Earth by July 2031. [137] NASA-ESA Mars Sample Return is a three-launch architecture concept for a sample return mission, which uses a rover to cache small samples, a Mars ascent stage to send it into orbit, and an orbiter to rendezvous with it above Mars and take it to Earth. [138]