Transit (astronomy) of Mercury from Saturn and a transit of Venus from Saturn. No missions were planned to coincide with the transit of Earth visible from Mars on 11 May 1984 and the Viking missions had been terminated a year previously. Consequently, the next opportunity to observe such an alignment will be in 2084. On December 21, 2012, the "Cassini–Huygens" probe, in orbit around Saturn, observed the planet Venus transiting the Sun. On 3 June 2014, the Mars rover "Curiosity" observed the planet Mercury transiting the Sun, marking the first time a planetary transit has been observed from a celestial body besides
International Year of Planet Earth support from individuals and organisations worldwide. The Year's Project Leader was former IUGS President Professor Eduardo F J de Mulder. The Year's Science Committee was chaired by Professor Edward Derbyshire (Royal Holloway) and its Outreach Committee by Dr Ted Nield (Geological Society of London). The International Year of Planet Earth project was initiated jointly by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The UN press release reads: "By a draft on the International Year of Planet Earth, 2008, which the Committee approved without a vote on 11 November, the Assembly