Mars live stream: Watch spacecraft stream images from red planet in first-its-kind event

The European Space Agency will attempt its first-ever live stream of images from Mars for one hour on Friday, giving space enthusiasts a live close-up view of the red planet for the first time ever.

“You’ll have the chance to get as close as it’s currently possible get to Mars,” the intergovernmental organization of space exploration said.

The agency will live stream images from the Mars Express, a spacecraft that first launched 20 years ago, ESA announced.

Because of the vast distance between Mars and Earth, the stream won’t be quite as “live” as, say, the NBA Finals broadcast. The ESA says light traveling from Mars can take anywhere from 3 to 22 minutes to reach Earth, based on the two planets’ orbital position.

Here’s what to know about the live stream event.

Mars live stream start time, how to watch

The stream begins at 12 p.m. ET and will show new images every 50 seconds as they shoot through the Express’ Visual Monitoring Camera, a “long-lived but-still-highly-productive” Martian orbiter, per the ESA.

You can watch the live stream at the embed at the top of this page or on USA TODAY’s YouTube channel. The ESA will also provide a stream.