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Washington, EFE

Mars may be observed by the human eye with the greatest clarity from midnight thanks to the orbits of the two planets that made it to be at the most close in this period, says NASA scientist Gerónimo Villanueva

March approaching the Earth every two years, but, at that moment, it will be closer to its orbit than other times and we will see him very bright and taller than usual, "said Villanueva, an astronomer of Argentine origin who works at Goddard Space Center of the NASA

According to expert calculations, March It will be about 57.6 million kilometers compared to 100 million kilometers on other calendar dates.

However , people will be able to see from midnight today from any point of the calendar. nde this event "party" To do this you should look at the Moon and, on your right, you can find a red-orange dot brighter than normal-Mars- and, by your side, a other planet: Saturn ", explains the planetary scientist

This astronomical phenomenon, which will recur in 2033, occurs due to" relatively simple "circumstances, according to Villanueva. The Earth surrounds the Sun each year (Earth) and Mars both, so both planets are aligned and are closer than usual.

However, the orbit of Mars is "very eccentric", that is to say there are times when it is farthest from the Sun and others closer, in comparison of the variation of the Earth. Thus, the orbit of the red planet, one of the most irregular of the solar system, and that of the Earth align with the Sun synchronously every fifteen years.

NASA, this opportunity represents a great opportunity for the researchers of Hubble Space Telescope, which operates "at its peak" since its launch in 1990.

"Hubble allows us to" 39; observe the solar system and outside for a long time, it is a very comprehensive information platform that helps us to understand, for example, how climates change in different planets, "said Villanueva. In the case of Mars, Hubble captured an image last week where we see that the red planet is covered by a huge cloud of dust that led to a "global storm" in this world. This knowledge is "very important" for the US Space Agency, which has a series of robots on the Martian surface to badyze this planet. NASA, in fact, has recently lost touch with the "Opportunity" rover, which uses solar panels as a source of energy.

Because of this Hubble-documented dust storm, "Opportunity" does not receive the necessary sunlight. work and went into hibernation until their panels were cleaned and the Martian atmosphere was cleared. One of the main objectives of all these investigations, without a doubt, is the arrival of humans on Mars, the planet that these weeks can be clearly observed by millions of people of the Earth.

This mission to Mars of "very logistical complex" would last 3 years, since, with the current technology, it takes 6 months to get there. Once the astronaut arrived on Mars, the two planets would not be aligned, so you should wait two years for this window of opportunity to open again.

In addition to the 6 months back, the NASA scientist reminded that it would be necessary to build a launch pad on Mars, a kind of Cape Canaveral on the Martian surface. "We are working so that, within 10 to 20 years, we can send the first man or the first woman to Mars," said Villanueva, who predicted that this person "has not yet reached l & # 39; university. " This anonymous teenager, unknowingly, will look midnight to Mars, the planet he will attempt to conquer in the coming decades.