Mars is home to perhaps the greatest mystery of the solar system: the so-called Martian dichotomy, which has baffled scientists since it was discovered in the 1970s.

The asteroid is estimated to be between 656 and 1,443 feet across, and will pass at 16 times the distance to the moon.

NASA has arrived at two ways of returning samples collected on Mars to Earth. Now, the agency will test the options to see if the cache can make it back in the 2030s.

Alinda is one of the five largest near-Earth asteroids, coming closer than 9.3 million miles until the year 2200.

"it's not completely unusual for asteroids to be near the Earth," Gallagher said. "Our moon is about a quarter million miles away from the Earth. So something 7.6 million miles out would be many, many, many times father away from the Earth than the moon is. No cause for alarm."

On Monday night you may have a chance to witness the moon obscuring the Red Planet at its brightest, as well as a comet’s closest approach to the sun.

The Alinda asteroid will be visible with binoculars in a 'once in a decade' event as it brushes past Earth, with its return to the planet not expected until 2087

An asteroid smacking into Mars could eject debris high above the Red Planet. If Deimos and Phobos formed from debris resulting from an asteroid collision on Mars, they must be younger than the Red ...

Alinda, measuring 2.6 miles wide, will be visible this weekend. Stargazers can spot it using basic equipment or watch a livestream. Events like this occur once in a decade.

The ground on Mars is full of nitrogen, a vital component for planet life, raising hopes that it might be more hospitable than it appears — but Martian soil is also dense and clay-like, the researchers realized, restricting the amount of oxygen available to plant roots.

The UAE is developing a space craft to land on an asteroid belt beyond Mars.

You could also take a shortcut and find the planet Mars, which is also visiting Gemini now. But be prepared: Spotting asteroid 877 Alinda will be an Easter egg hunt. "It's a magnitude of +9 ...