• KingJalopy @lemm.ee
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    5 months ago

    Funny how we consider that “close” in terms of space. It’s such a massive distance we can’t really comprehend it and it’s only the first planet out from us. Even at the speed of light it would take 3 minutes+ to get there! I’m no spacengineer but that’s like 186k miles per sec. Or something. Space is big. Really big.

    • El Barto@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      For comparison, you can travel around the Earth’s equator several times per second at the speed of light.

    • niktemadur@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Also, the comparatively small and weak gravitational field of Mars has made it a most challenging target in the solar system, behind only Mercury and the Sun itself.
      Of course, through trial and error, with better know-how and tech, they have gotten increasingly competent and even reliable at the task.