How long does it take to get to Mars from Earth?
Do you want to leave Earth to settle on Mars? If that’s the case, get ready to spend many months eating freeze-dried foods. always ready? If so, we invite you on board with this article for the imminent departure to Mars.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a one-way ticket On Mars it would require approx Nine months of travel. in case if’Round-tripAll this will take 21 months. For good reason, you’ll have to wait about three months on the Red Planet. This is necessary so that the latter and the ground are in ideal positions upon return. however, This estimate could change soon Thanks to the emergence of new payment systems.
Long trip to Mars
To determine the duration of the trip to Mars, several factors must be taken into account. As you might suspect, the first is The distance between our planet and the red planet. Therefore, we must first determine when the Earth is closest to Mars.
theoretically, The difference between the two stars is minimal When two conditions are met. First, Mars must be in rock bottomwhile our planet should be inApogee. Obviously, the two stars remain in their own orbits and are on the same side with respect to our star. in these cases, Only 54.6 million km separate them.
Note: Perihelion and aphelion are points on the orbit of a star that revolves around the sun. The first determines the nearest point, while the second determines the furthest from the last.
However, no such event has ever happened in human history. Furthermore, it definitely hadn’t happened in tens of millions of years. However, we were able to observe The proximity of Earth and Mars in 2003. Unique 56 million km Separation of the planets.
For information, Earth and Mars are farther apart when they are on opposite sides of our star. in those times, up to 401 million km They can be separated. The average distance between Earth and the Red Planet is 225 million km.
How long does the trip to Mars take?
With the fastest spaceship
So far, Speed record It is owned by Parker Solar Probe Designed by NASA. Moreover, the closer the spacecraft is to our star, the faster it will travel.
On November 21, 2021, this NASA probe reached a speed of 163 km/s. Concretely, the device has arrived At an impressive speed of over 586,000 km / h. This was during its tenth flyby of the Sun.
At this speed, the duration of the journey between Earth and Mars, in a straight line, would be as follows:
- 93 hours covering the theoretical shortest path between Earth and Mars;
- 95 hours, traveling the shortest recorded path between Earth and Mars;
- 686 hours (about a month) to travel the longest path between Earth and Mars;
- 384 hours (16 days) on average.
Separately, NASA said in a statement that Parker Solar Probe will exceed 692,000 km / h. This should happen in December 2024 when the spacecraft approaches 6.2 million km from the surface of the sun.
Travel time at the speed of light
The light’s speed about 299.792 km / s. At this speed, the The travel time between our planet and Mars would be very short. The completion times for this flight are respectively: 182 seconds, 187 seconds, 1,342 seconds, and 751 seconds.
See also: What is the closest planet to the sun?
Travel time calculation
You may be wondering why it takes nine months to go to Mars? Here are some answers.
Elliptical path
Previously, we considered the path to be followed as a straight line. In practice, this would mean that it would have to pass through the star if Earth and Mars were opposites with respect to the Sun. Which is far from possible. In addition to, space ship need to moving in orbit around our star.
“It takes the Earth a year to go around the Sun and Mars takes about 1.9 years (say two years for ease of calculation) to go around the Sun. The elliptical orbit that takes you from Earth to Mars is longer than Earth’s, but shorter than Mars’s. So, we can estimate how long it will take to travel In this orbit by calculating the average lengths of the Earth’s orbit and the orbit of Mars.So it will take about a year and a half to complete the elliptical orbit.»
Patten Professor of Physics, University of California San Diego
The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center website states that it takes nine months to go to Mars. However, conditions must be met, The perfect settingto make this possible.
In addition, the technologies used by space agencies can also affect the duration of the trip to Mars. This is basically the case Spacecraft propulsion systems.
Mars is a moving target
Even though both planets are on the same side of the sun, you still have to solve the problem Another problem. Earlier, we assumed that the distance between Earth and Mars remained constant. In other words, the gap between the two planets, from the moment of launch until the moment of landing, will remain the same. Yet we know that The planets never stop moving in their elliptical orbits about our star.
And therefore, distance between our planet And the red planet varies over time. For a space mission, engineers must do the math Where will Mars be when it lands?. It’s like shooting a moving target, they have to anticipate the planet’s movements over a long period of time. Of course, managers can Correct their shot sometimes.
“In the nine months it takes to travel to Mars, it travels quite a distance in its orbit, about three-eighths the distance around the sun. You have to plan to make sure that by the time you get to Mars’ orbit, Mars is where you need to be! Operation, this means that you can only start your journey when the Earth and Mars are aligned correctly. This only happens every 26 months.”
Craig C. Patten Professor of Physics, University of California
According to the professor, burning more fuel will shorten the flight time. However, this is not ideal with the technology available to us. Moreover, engineers must Consider energy efficiencyIn addition to the distance to their account. The goal is precisely to save fuel.
The invasion of Mars
ambitious mission
The Mars invasion Humans have long cared considering that this planet could host us. Not to mention that scientists have found evidence there that the planet may once have harbored life. However, it should already He managed to set foot on the surface of Mars.
To this end, space agencies are already preparing to send people to Mars. The NASAfor example, wants to launch the first mission of its kind by 2030. Likewise, countries, such as China And the Russia, plans toSend humans to the red planet.
In this great task, Elon Musk, along with SpaceX, do not want to be left behind. It is even particularly ambitious. Elon Musk announced that we will go beyond the surface of Mars From 2024.
technology first
Nine months of drifting in space… even fans of great travel will get tired of it quickly. Not to mention the many obstacles, including food. This is why scientists are working on it Technologies development allow to Significantly reduce travel time towards Mars. A more efficient missile, for example, would help achieve this goal.
The Space launch system or literally space launch system (SLS) from NASA It’s an example. SLS missile is designed for be scalable, allowing you to perform different types of tasks. It may be, among other things, Take the astronauts to go to the moon as such on me Mars.
With this rocket, NASA is working on the Artemis program. With this program, the United States officially resumes the conquest of the moon. The first space mission of this project, Artemis I, aims to launch the spacecraft Orion around the moon to finally bring it back to earth. Above all, it makes it possible to prepare for the next mission, Artemis II, that will begin crew.
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