Mars - The Perihelic Opposition Of 2003

Scientists all over the world knew that 2003 was going to be a good year to go to Mars, because Mars would be in opposition to Earth. On August 28, 2003, the Sun, Earth, and Mars were going to line up in a row. This happens every twenty-six months.

The opposition of 2003 was special, because it was going to occur while Mars was at its closest point to the Sun. This configuration is known as a perihelic opposition. When Mars is in perihelic opposition it is also much closer to Earth than usual. This means that less fuel and flight time are required to send a spacecraft from Earth to Mars near the time of a perihelic opposition.

Perihelic oppositions only happen every fifteen to seventeen years. During the late 1990s, the Japanese Space Agency, European Space Agency, and NASA began planning Mars missions to coincide with the perihelic opposition of 2003. The Japanese mission Nozomi FIGURE 7.3 Scientific instruments on the Mars Odyssey Orbiter "Scientific Instruments," in NASA Facts: 2001 Mars Odyssey, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Jet Proulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Techology, August 1, 2000, http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fact_sheets/Odyssey0302.pdf (accessed January 31, 2006)(which means hope) suffered radiation damage during its flight and never made it to Mars.