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The planet Mars is one of the brightest objects in the night sky,
easily visible with the unaided eye as a bright red star. Every two
years or so, Mars and Earth reach their closest point, called
“opposition”, when Mars can be as close as 55,000,000 km from Earth. And
every two years, space agencies take advantage of this orbital
alignment to send spacecraft to the Red Planet.
How long does it take to get to Mars?
The total journey time from Earth to Mars takes between 150-300 Days depending on the speed of the launch, the alignment of Earth and Mars, and the length of the journey the spacecraft takes to reach its target. It really just depends on how much fuel you’re willing to burn to get there. More fuel, shorter travel time.
The History of Going to Mars
The first spacecraft ever to make the journey from Earth to Mars was NASA’s Mariner 4, which launched on November 28, 1964 and arrived at Mars July 14, 1965, successfully taking a series of 21 photographs. Mariner 4′s total flight time was 228 days.
Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are thought to be captured asteroids. Both satellites were discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall and are named after the characters Phobos (panic/fear) and Deimos (terror/dread) who, in Greek mythology, accompanied their father Ares, god of war, into battle. Ares was known as Mars to the Romans.
The planet Mars is one of the brightest objects in the night sky,
easily visible with the unaided eye as a bright red star. Every two
years or so, Mars and Earth reach their closest point, called
“opposition”, when Mars can be as close as 55,000,000 km from Earth. And
every two years, space agencies take advantage of this orbital
alignment to send spacecraft to the Red Planet. How long does it take to get to Mars?
The total journey time from Earth to Mars takes between 150-300 Days depending on the speed of the launch, the alignment of Earth and Mars, and the length of the journey the spacecraft takes to reach its target. It really just depends on how much fuel you’re willing to burn to get there. More fuel, shorter travel time.
The History of Going to Mars
The first spacecraft ever to make the journey from Earth to Mars was NASA’s Mariner 4, which launched on November 28, 1964 and arrived at Mars July 14, 1965, successfully taking a series of 21 photographs. Mariner 4′s total flight time was 228 days.
Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are thought to be captured asteroids. Both satellites were discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall and are named after the characters Phobos (panic/fear) and Deimos (terror/dread) who, in Greek mythology, accompanied their father Ares, god of war, into battle. Ares was known as Mars to the Romans.
