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A comet named Siding Spring will have a close encounter with Mars on Sunday afternoon, coming within 87,000 miles of the planet and NASA plans to have all cameras available ready to witness the event, CBS reported.
NASA will use its three units orbiting the planet, the two land-based rovers, the Hubble Telescope as well as other Earth-based telescope to catch a glimpse of the comet that is estimated to be a half-mile in diameter and traveling at a speed of 126,000 mph, CBS said.
No comet has ever come so close to Mars before. For comparison, 87,000 miles is roughly one-third the distance between the Earth and the moon, CBS said.
The fly-by will take place on Sunday afternoon, Eastern Time, so amateur viewing will be difficult, but NASA hopes to have Earth-based images not long after the event. Mars-based data could take weeks to analyze, according to CBS.
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