What if Proxima B and Mars switched places? #mars #proximab #space #sciencefacts
2What if Proxima B and Mars switched places? Well, for starters, we would have a new neighbor that is 1.3 times bigger than Earth and orbits a red dwarf star. That means it would probably be tidally locked, meaning one side would always face the star and the other would be in perpetual darkness. Imagine living on the twilight zone between the two extremes! Maybe we could send some rovers there to explore the different climates and landscapes. On the other hand, Mars would be much farther away from us, about 4.2 light-years. That would make it harder to communicate with our existing rovers and satellites there, not to mention any future human missions. We would also lose a potential backup planet in case Earth becomes uninhabitable. Maybe we should just leave things as they are and appreciate our solar system for what it is.