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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.
The distance at close approach varies between about 54 and 103 million km (34 and 64 million mi) due to the planets' elliptical orbits, which causes comparable variation in angular size. [190] 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.
While the Kármán line is defined for Earth only, several scientists have estimated the corresponding figures for Mars and Venus. Isidoro Martínez arrived at 80 km (50 miles) and 250 km (160 miles) high, respectively, [31] while Nicolas Bérend arrived at 113 km (70 miles) and 303 km (188 miles). [32]
Aristarchus of Samos made a measurement of the distance of the Sun from the Earth in relation to the distance of the Moon from the Earth. The distance to the Moon was described in Earth radii (20, also inaccurate). The diameter of the Earth had been calculated previously. At the time, it was assumed that some of the planets were further away ...
Since the 1970s, they’ve covered 137 miles. Four of them are still cruising: NASA's Curiosity and Perseverance rovers on Mars, and the China National Space Administration's (CNSA) Zhurong rover ...
Several factors make placing a spacecraft into an areostationary orbit more difficult than a geostationary orbit. Since the areostationary orbit lies between Mars's two natural satellites, Phobos (semi-major axis: 9,376 km) and Deimos (semi-major axis: 23,463 km), any satellites in the orbit will suffer increased orbital station keeping costs due to unwanted orbital resonance effects.
On 21 March 1963, when the spacecraft was at a distance of 106,760,000 km from Earth, on its way to Mars, communications ceased due to failure of its antenna orientation system. [44] [45] In 1964, both Soviet probe launches, of Zond 1964A on June 4, and Zond 2 on November 30, (part of the Zond program), resulted in failures. Zond 1964A had a ...
All-time (and while on a planetary body [52]): 7.6 kilometers [53]: 1144 (4.7 miles, 25,029 feet [54]), Apollo 17, Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt, EVA-2, December 12, 1972. During their second of three moonwalks, Cernan and Schmitt rode the Lunar Roving Vehicle to geological station 2, Nansen Crater , at the foot of the South Massif .