Ephemeris
The actual sky, not a screensaver.
Planets sit on Keplerian orbits (J2000 elements, 3D inclination included in range). Scrub time and they move because the date moved — not because an animation loop said so.
Ecliptic plane
Heliocentric map
Moon orbit around Earth is enlarged. Transfer ellipse is the dashed ivory arc for the selected window.
Epoch
Thu Jan 1 1970 · 00:00:00 UTC
Live present
Ephemeris
Earth–Mars range
Separation
1.576 AU
235.8 million km
One-way light
13m 07s
26m 13s round-trip
Earth 0.983 AU from Sun
Mars 1.416 AU from Sun
Selected transfer
Sep 15 2026 departure
T−20711 days. Hohmann cruise lasts 259 days after ignition.
Heliocentric 1.000 AU · dashed arc on the orbit map is the transfer ellipse.
Mission
Choose a window
±400 days
Range history
Min 0.481 AUNow 1.576 AUMax 2.665 AU
Ballistic optima
Launch calendar
| Departure | Arrival | Cruise |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 15 2026 | May 31 2027 | 259d |
| Nov 24 2028 | Aug 9 2029 | 259d |
| Feb 1 2031 | Oct 17 2031 | 259d |
| Apr 12 2033 | Dec 26 2033 | 259d |
| Jun 21 2035 | Mar 5 2036 | 259d |
| Aug 30 2037 | May 15 2038 | 259d |
| Nov 8 2039 | Jul 23 2040 | 259d |
| Dec 26 2041 | Sep 10 2042 | 259d |