In early December, NASA scientists did send the new Orion spacecraft 3,604
miles beyond Earth as they prep to one day put humans on Mars.
Using a series of complex maneuvers, TESS will boost away from the Earth and, using the gravity of the Moon as a catapult, end up in an orbit that extends about 232,000
miles beyond Earth.
TESS will then use a series of complex maneuvers to head into a never - before - used orbit, reaching about 232,000
miles beyond the Earth, to photograph the skies.
Not exact matches
Orion is part of NASA's follow - up program to the now - retired space shuttles that will allow astronauts to travel
beyond the International Space Station, which flies about 260
miles (420 km) above
Earth.
(Herschel and Planck will both take up residence about 930,000
miles, or 1.5 million kilometers, from
Earth, well
beyond the moon's orbit.)
The planet, located about 4.2 light - years from
Earth, or 25 trillion
miles (40 trillion km), is the closest of some 3,500 planets that have been discovered
beyond the solar system since 1995, according to the paper.
Though the sun lies 93 million
miles (149 million kilometers) from
Earth, its unceasing activity assures an impact on our planet far
beyond the obvious light and heat.