By Linda Yancey Singleton via LinkedIn
In the spirit of the Humans to Mars Summit happening this week, I thought I would share some cool news on the hot subject of Mars.
Did you know that on May 30, Mars’ orbit will be closest to Earth? A mere 46.8 million miles (75.3 million kilometers) from us. The red planet will appear brightest from May 18 to June 3. During the Mars Close Approach on May 30, Mars reaches its highest point around midnight and will be visible for much of the night. Learn more on NASA’s Mars Exploration web site and set your calendar notices for May 30. The next Mars Close Approach won’t come around again until July 31, 2018.
http://mars.nasa.gov/allaboutmars/nightsky/mars-close-approach/
You can also learn more about plans for human exploration of the Red Planet at the Humans to Mars Summit which starts Tuesday in Washington, D.C. This conference has as stellar lineup of speakers from academia, media, government and industry organizations across the country. There is still time to register athttp://h2m.exploremars.org/ Follow the conference online and at #H2M.
On Wednesday, May 18, the House Space Subcommittee will host a hearing onNext Steps to Mars: Deep Space Habitats at 2 p.m. ET. This hearing will examine Mars exploration, specifically efforts to develop deep-space habitation capabilities. The Martian author Andy Weir will be among the panelists providing testimony at this hearing.
And, as always, you can follow NASA’s Journey to Mars progress with the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System and Ground Systems Development programs on their web site and social media pages. #JourneyToMars