NASA researchers said Monday that a comet which had a slim chance of crashing into Mars in 2014 will most likely harmlessly pass the Red Planet.
NASA researchers had given Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) a 1-in-8,000 chance of striking the Red Planet in October 2014, but revised calculations now put the possibility of an impact at just 1 in 120,000.
"Based on data through April 7, 2013, the latest orbital plot places the comet's closest approach to Mars slightly closer than previous estimates, at about 68,000 miles (110,000 kilometers)," said a NASA update on Friday (April 12). "At the same time, the new data set now significantly reduces the probability the comet will impact the Red Planet, from about 1 in 8,000 to about 1 in 120,000."
Meanwhile, communications between the Earth and Mars through Mars Curiosity Rover are on hiatus for several weeks due to interference from the sun. That means NASA's orbiters and rovers that study Mars will be left to their own devices until radio signals can once again travel between the two planets.
"It's like being on either side of a huge bonfire," NASA explains, in a video on its website. "We can't see Mars, and our landers, orbiters and rovers can't see us."
The sun hinders Earth's radio contact with Mars about once every 26 months. This time, the blackout is expected to peak on April 17, NASA said.
