> Probably people are used to think about distance between stationary places so they look at the orbits, not to where planets are on their orbit. These people

> Probably people are used to think about distance between stationary places so they look at the orbits, not to where planets are on their orbit. These people are more correct than you give them credit for. 1. If you look at their orbits (and not momentary positions), then the orbit of Venus is closer (less distance) to the orbit of Earth than the orbit of Mercury is. 2. It takes less delta-v to go from Earth to Venus than to Mercury.