Quote:
Originally Posted by SonicSP
Earth is closer to Mercury on average than it is to any other planet.
Average distance between Earth and Mercury is 1.039AU. Whereas Earth-Mars and Earth-Venus are 1.7AU and 1.136AU respectively.
There are times where other planets may be closer, but Mercury is the closest the longest.
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Yeah, but since Mercury is much closer to the Sun's gravity well, a trip to Mercury take much longer.
For example, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was launched on August 12, 2005 and reached Mars on March 10, 2006. The BepiColombo probe to Mercury was launched on 20 October 2018 and is expected to orbit Mercury on 5 December 2025, with a first flyby on 2 OCtober 2021.