▲ The Earth and the Moon as seen from Mars by the Mars Express spacecraft Courtesy of ESA What the Earth will look like from Mars in distant space.
A picture of the Earth and the Moon as seen from Mars, an average distance of 77 million km from Earth, has been released.
The picture sent to Earth by the Mars Express, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars rover, vividly captures the Earth, which appears as a very small white dot in the dark of space, and the smaller, fainter Moon.
In an official statement, Jorge Hernández Bernal, a scientist at Basque University in Spain and a member of the Mars Express team, said: “This simple snapshot taken by the Mars rover gives you the feeling of looking at an ant 100 meters from Earth. But we are all in it.” ▲ The Earth and the Moon as seen from Mars by the Mars Express spacecraft. Courtesy of ESA This image, like the expression ‘Pale Blue Dot’ (the title of a book written by Carl Sagan in 1994), once again shows that the Earth is only a small dot in the universe. remind
Space.com, a science media outlet, said, “The photo makes us think about the ‘fragility of the earth’ mentioned by astronomer Carl Sagan and the responsibility of mankind to take care of the only planet that can be inhabited.” It’s been 30 years, but it’s more important than ever.” ▲ Imagined image of the European Space Agency’s Mars Express Mars Express Dr. Bernal said, “We have seen similar images in the past, but on the special day of the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Mars Express Mars Express, due to the worsening climate and ecological crisis, it is more difficult than ever. I wanted to reflect on Carl Sagan’s more effective reflections in the present.”
“Humanity still needs to take care of the pale ‘blue dot’ (Earth). “Planet B” (where life can exist) cannot be found.”
Since the photo was taken from a probe orbiting Mars, it was taken from space 300 million kilometers farther than the distance between Earth and Mars. The photos were taken using Mars Express’ high-resolution stereo camera (HRSC) and super-resolution channel (SRC) four times in May and June.
Mars Exploration Ship ‘Mars Express’, ‘active’ for 20 years
Mars Express, launched in 2003, is the first European Mars probe. After leaving Earth on June 2, 2003 on a Russian Soyuz rocket, it flew 491 million km for six months and entered Mars orbit on December 25 of the same year.
The researchers speculate that there is a lake under the ice layer near Mars’ south pole through observations from the Mars Express. ▲ A picture of the Earth and the Moon taken from space 8 million km away on July 3, 2003, while the European Space Agency’s Mars Orbiter Mars Express was on its way to Mars. On the night of July 3, 2018, the Earth and the Moon were photographed from a distance of 8 million km from the Earth.
Mars Express is still active today, 20 years after its launch.
On the other hand, after seeing a picture of the Earth taken by Voyager 1 in 1990, Carl Sagan said, “The pale shining blue dot challenges the arrogance and illusion that we are special beings in the universe.” There is no sign of it coming from anywhere else. It is our duty to cherish and preserve the Pale Blue Dot.”
Reporter Song Hyeon-seo huimin0217@seoul.co.kr
