Convert Mile (mi) to Megameter (Mm) instantly.
About these units
Mile (mi)
The mile, equal to 5,280 feet, is a legacy of a long history of measurement stretching back to Roman times. Its ancestor, the Roman "mille passus" (thousand paces), established a rough distance of 1,480 meters, which evolved through medieval and early modern Europe into various regional miles. The English statute mile was standardized in 1593 and survives today in the United States, the United Kingdom (for roadways), and a few other territories. Despite being a non-metric unit, the mile remains deeply embedded in cultural and infrastructural systems. Road networks in the US are laid out with mile markers; athletic events include the famed "one-mile run"; and many people intuitively judge driving distances in miles. Aviation and international travel sometimes reference statute miles, though nautical miles dominate in navigation. Its long history and familiarity keep the mile relevant even in a metric world.
Megameter (Mm)
The megameter, measuring one million meters (1,000 kilometers), is useful for describing large geographical or geophysical distances on planetary scales. Earth's radius (approximately 6.37 Mm) and the thickness of atmospheric layers can be expressed effectively in megameters. This unit provides a clean and compact way to represent massive distances without resorting to scientific notation. The megameter also appears in discussions of communication signals, satellite orbits, and especially planetary science. While kilometers are still more common in public-facing contexts, megameters offer a more mathematically elegant representation for large calculations. They provide a middle ground between human-scale geography and astronomical units.