The distance between Mars and Earth is typically measured in astronomical units (AU) or kilometers rather than light years. One astronomical unit is the average distance between Earth and the Sun, which is about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. The distance between Mars and Earth can vary significantly depending on their positions in their respective orbits around the Sun.
On average, Mars is about 1.52 astronomical units away from Earth. Therefore, when Mars is at its closest approach to Earth during its orbit (opposition), it can be as close as around 0.38 AU (35 million miles or 56 million kilometers) away. Conversely, when Mars is on the opposite side of the Sun from Earth (conjunction), it can be as far as around 2.67 AU (250 million miles or 401 million kilometers) away.
It's important to note that a light year is a unit of distance used to measure vast cosmic distances. It represents the distance that light travels in one year, which is approximately 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers. Since Mars is part of our solar system, its distance from Earth is relatively small compared to the scale of a light year.