START's reply

===> How far is the Earth from Mars?

Mars

Distance from Earth
	Minimum (10⁶ km)	55.7
	Maximum (10⁶ km)	401.3

Source: Planetary Sciences at the National Space Science Data Center

The distance between two planets can vary widely depending on where they are in their orbits.
perihelion aphelion semimajor axis
Mars 206.62 (10⁶ km) 249.23 (10⁶ km) 227.92 (10⁶ km)
Earth 147.09 (10⁶ km) 152.10 (10⁶ km) 149.60 (10⁶ km)

Perihelion: the point in a body's orbit closest to the Sun, in 10⁶ kilometers.
Aphelion: the point in a body's orbit furthest from the Sun, in 10⁶ kilometers.
Semimajor axis: the mean distance from the Sun in 10⁶ kilometers.

	perihelion	aphelion	semimajor axis
Mars	206.62 (10⁶ km)	249.23 (10⁶ km)	227.92 (10⁶ km)
Earth	147.09 (10⁶ km)	152.10 (10⁶ km)	149.60 (10⁶ km)

Source: Planetary Sciences at the National Space Science Data Center

I can show you some diagrams of the current (or recent) positions of the planets:

Solar System Live (display): easy-to-use fill-out form which produces easy-to-read image of orbits and positions of planets. Good defaults, many options.
Source: Solar System Live
Solar System Orbit Diagrams and Distribution Graphs
- Inner Solar System Orbit Diagrams
- Outer Solar System Orbit Diagrams
Source: JPL Solar System Dynamics
3-D Interactive Solar System: Java applet which shows the orbits and positions of the planets right now. The view can be tilted, rotated, and zoomed in and out.
Source: NASA Liftoff to Space Exploration

Mars
Mars is about 34,600,000 mi. (55,700,000 km) away from the Earth at its closest approach.

Source: WorldBook

Go back to the START dialog window.