Makemake

 

Makemake (pronounced mah-kee mah-kee) is a distant dwarf planet named after the Rapanui god of fertility.

It is so far away, out beyond the orbit of Neptune, that scientists ignore miles and kilometers.  Instead, they use a measure called an "astronomical unit."

An astronomical unit is the distance from the Earth to the Sun. Makemake is 45.8 astronomical units away from the Sun.

It is so far away, a beam of sunlight takes 6 hours and 20 minutes to reach Makemake. And, it takes 305 Earth years for the dwarf planet to make one trip around the Sun.

Makemake is located in the Kuiper Belt along with other frozen asteroids and comets  - and probably many more undiscovered dwarf planets.

The Rocket Team worked with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to modify one of their Kounotori cargo ships for deep space operations.

This Kounotori (meaning "white stork" in Japanese) is going to orbit Makemake. It has a supply of food and equipment for the next crewed mission that will visit a few months later.

More info: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/dwarf-planets/makemake/in-depth/

If you ever visit the Kuiper Belt, send me a picture at

RamoneRocketeer -at- gmail -dot- com.