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Trans-Mars injection diagram. A = Hohmann transfer orbit. B = Conjunction mission. C = Opposition mission. A trans-Mars injection (TMI) is a heliocentric orbit in which a propulsive maneuver is used to set a spacecraft on a trajectory, also known as Mars transfer orbit, which will place it as far as Mars orbit.
Because most orbits in the Solar System are nearly coplanar to the ecliptic, this occurs when the Sun, Earth, and the body are configured in an approximately straight line, or syzygy; that is, Earth and the body are in the same direction as seen from the Sun. Opposition occurs only for superior planets (see the diagram). The instant of ...
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Mars: Mars – fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System , after Mercury . Named after the Roman god of war , it is often referred to as the " Red Planet " [ 1 ] [ 2 ] because the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish ...
Orbit of Mars relative to the orbits of inner Solar System planets Orbit of Mars and other Inner Solar System planets An animation to explain the (apparent) retrograde motion of Mars, using actual 2020 planet positions Mars seen through a 16-inch amateur telescope, at 2020 opposition. Mars has an orbit with a semimajor axis of 1.524 ...
The axial tilt and eccentricity of Earth (and Mars) are by no means fixed, but rather vary due to gravitational perturbations from other planets in the Solar System on a timescale of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of years. Thus, for example Earth's eccentricity, currently about 1% regularly fluctuates and can increase up to 6%.
Euler diagram showing the types of bodies orbiting the Sun. The following is a list of Solar System objects by orbit, ordered by increasing distance from the Sun.Most named objects in this list have a diameter of 500 km or more.
Sketch of a circumlunar free return trajectory (not to scale), plotted on the rotating reference frame rotating with the moon. (Moon's motion only shown for clarity) In orbital mechanics, a free-return trajectory is a trajectory of a spacecraft traveling away from a primary body (for example, the Earth) where gravity due to a secondary body (for example, the Moon) causes the spacecraft to ...
Apparent retrograde motion of Mars in 2003 as seen from Earth The term retrograde is from the Latin word retrogradus – "backward-step", the affix retro- meaning "backwards" and gradus "step". Retrograde is most commonly an adjective used to describe the path of a planet as it travels through the night sky, with respect to the zodiac , stars ...