travel time to mars from earth

Advertisement

How Long Does It Take to Get to Mars?

• Share Content on Facebook
• Share Content on LinkedIn
• Share Content on Flipboard
• Share Content on Reddit
• Share Content via Email

All eyes are on the red planet lately. Thanks to a number of missions in the past few years – including the Perseverance Rover that touched down Feb. 22, 2021 – Mars is increasingly interesting to astronomers, astrophysicists and future astronauts. NASA plans to put astronauts on Mars in the future, and Elon Musk keeps claiming he'll do it first , but before we strap in and blast off, it helps to know exactly how long it takes to get to there.

Mars completes one turn around the sun every 687 Earth days . This means that the distance between Earth and Mars changes every day, and the two planets are aligned closely to one another roughly every 26 months . Additionally, because both Earth and Mars have elliptical orbits (and Mars' is more elliptical than Earth's), some of our close approaches are closer than others. The most recent notable close approach was Oct. 6, 2020, when Mars was just 38.57 million miles (62.07 million kilometers) from Earth.

So how long does it take to travel the almost 40 million miles to Mars? That depends on your speed. For example, the Perseverance rover traveled at a speed of about 24,600 mph (about 39,600 kph) and the journey took seven months , but that's because of where the Earth and Mars were at the time Perseverance was launched and where they were when it landed. If you could travel as fast as the New Horizons spacecraft (which is famous for visiting Pluto back in 2015), you could potentially reach Mars in as little as 39 days depending on the alignment of the planets and the 36,000 mph (58,000 kph) speed that New Horizons reached. Historically, spacecraft have taken anywhere between 128 days (Mariner 7 on a flyby) and 333 days (Viking 2 Orbiter/Lander, the second U.S. landing on Mars) .

Since no human has traveled to Mars yet, we don't have exact numbers on how fast it's possible to go – because remember, you need to slow down as you get closer to Mars. The best estimates are that human missions to Mars will be timed to take advantage of a good planetary alignment. Most estimates put the travel time in the range of 150-300 days – that's five to 10 months – and the average is usually around seven months , just like the Perseverance rover.

The two fastest travel times from Earth to Mars are for the Viking 6 and Viking 7 spacecraft, which took 155 and 128 days respectively . Both of these spacecraft were on flyby missions to image Mars, so they didn't need to slow down as they approached Mars as orbiters, landers and rovers need to do.

Frequently Answered Questions

Why can we only go to mars every 2 years.

Please copy/paste the following text to properly cite this HowStuffWorks.com article:

The Nine Planets

How long does it take to get to Mars?

Mars is the most populated planet when it comes to robots. The famous Red Planet is located on average at around 1.5 AU or 228 million km / 142 million mi away from the Sun . At its farthest point, Mars is located at 1.6 AU away from the Sun, while its closest point, perihelion, is at 1.38 AU away. 1 AU – astronomical unit – is the equivalent of 150 million km / 93 million mi, and the Sun is 1 AU away from Earth.

(If you want to calculate how long it takes to get to stars, planets, and galaxies, try our space travel calculator)

Traveling At the Speed of Light Towards Mars

Traveling On One Of the Fastest Spacecraft Towards Mars

How Long Did It Take Other Spacecraft To Reach Mars?

The journey towards the Red Planet takes quite a bit of time, no matter how you look at it. But how long did it take for other probes or spacecraft to reach Mars? Here is a little list:

• Mars Science Laboratory – Launched in 2011 – 254 days
• Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – 2005 – 210 days
• Mars Express Orbiter – 2003 – 201 days
• Mars Pathfinder – 1996 – 212 days
• Mars Global Surveyor – 1996 – 308 days
• Viking 2 – 1975 – 333 days
• Viking 1 – 1975 – 304 days
• Mariner 9 – 1971 – 168 days
• Mariner 7 – 1969 – 128 days
• Mariner 6 – 1969 – 155 days
• Mariner 4 – 1965 – 228 days

How Long Will It Take SpaceX To Get To Mars?

Who Is Going to Mars in 2020 and 2023?

Can You Breathe on Mars?

Unfortunately, Mars’s atmosphere is made up of around 95% carbon dioxide. This means that you couldn’t breathe on the Red Planet, and you would almost instantly die of hypoxia. Apart from this, Mars is really a cold place with average surface temperatures reaching 21 degrees Celsius; however, in the night, temperatures drop to -62 degrees Celsius. The Martian dust is also dangerous to humans, as it is toxic, finely grained, and abrasive, which is terrible for our lungs if we were exposed to it.

The last thing to worry about would be radiation. Mars is full of it since its atmosphere, and lack of a global magnetic field means that the planet is showered by radiation through high-energy cosmic rays and solar particles. Astronomers will have to face all of these things if they ever get to Mars, but with our current technology, some of these problems might be easily solved. It remains to be seen what other new technologies we will have in the near future that would increase our chances of colonizing Mars.

Did you know?

• The first spacecraft to orbit around Mars, was NASA’S Mariner 9 probe. It was sent to Mars in 1971, and it reached the Red Planet in just 168 days.
• The first U.S. spacecraft to land on Mars was Viking 1. This occurred in 1975. 
• The first spacecraft to go to Mars was NASA’s Mariner 4. This happened in 1965, and it arrived at its destination in just 228 days.
• Mars has two moons, namely Phobos and Deimos, but they are very small, both of them put together would still be smaller than our Moon.
• Perseverance is headed towards Mars. The European Space Agency is preparing to send their own first rover to the Red Planet as well. The rover is named Rosalind Franklin, after the British DNA pioneer.
• China is also planning to send a spacecraft to Mars – both a rover and orbiter. The United Arab Emirates has plans to send an orbiter to Mars in 2020 as well, but the current COVID crisis might hinder this.
• Mars has only 11% of our Earth’s mass. It is the second-smallest planet in the Solar System , having a diameter of only 6.779 km / 4.212 mi (30% bigger than Mercury ), and a radius of 3.389 km / 2.105 mi.
• It would take around 7 million Mars-sized planets to fill the Sun.

Image Sources:

• https://www.vaisala.com/sites/default/files/styles/16_9_liftup_extra_large/public/images/LIFT-Mars%20the%20Red%20Planet-1600×900.jpg?itok=YXq-Cv1K
• https://advancedtech.airliquide.com/sites/abt_at/files/styles/800×625/public/2016/12/06/mars-short-read-overlay1.jpg?itok=tZPadBNH
• https://images.theconversation.com/files/88105/original/image-20150710-17473-idj453.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=926&fit=clip
• https://i.insider.com/59dd480492406c2c768b4d7a?width=1136&format=jpeg
• https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/images/mars2020/20200727/PIA23491-16.jpg
• https://www.sciencealert.com/images/2019-02/processed/MarsOneBankrupt2019_1024.jpg
• https://planetary-science.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/6a00d8341bf7f753ef01b7c705f443970b-800wi.jpg

Want to travel to Mars? Here’s how long the trip could take.

Nuclear engines or not, you're gonna need a lot of PTO to get to the Red Planet.

By Eva Botkin-Kowacki | Published Feb 21, 2023 6:00 AM EST

Despite what Star Trek’s warp-speed journeys would have us believe, interplanetary travel is quite the hike. Take getting to Mars. Probes sent to the Red Planet by NASA and other space agencies spend about seven months in space before they arrive at their destination. A trip for humans would probably be longer—likely on the timescale of a few years. 

There are a lot of things that a human crew needs to survive that robots don’t, such as food, water, oxygen, and enough supplies for a return—the weight of which can slow down a spacecraft. With current technology, NASA calculations estimate a crewed mission to Mars and back, plus time on the surface , could take somewhere between two and three years. “Three years we know for sure is feasible,” says Michelle Rucker, who leads NASA’s Mars Architecture Team in the agency’s ​​ Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate .

But NASA aims to shorten that timeline, in part because it would make a Mars mission safer for humans—we still don’t know how well the human body can withstand the environment of space for an extended period. (The record for most consecutive days in space is 437.) The agency is investing in projects to develop new propulsion technologies that might enable more expeditious space travel. 

A crooked path to Mars

In a science-fictional world, a spacecraft would blast off Earth and head directly to Mars. That trajectory would certainly make for a speedier trip. But real space travel is a lot more complicated than going from point A to point B.

“If you had all the thrust you want, you could ignore the fact that there happens to be gravity in our universe and just plow all the way through the solar system,” says Mason Peck , a professor of astronautics at Cornell University who served as NASA’s chief technologist from 2011 to 2013. “But that’s not a scenario that’s possible right now.”

Such a direct trajectory has several challenges. As a spacecraft lifts off Earth, it needs to escape the planet’s gravitational pull, which requires quite a bit of thrust. Then, in space, the force of gravity from Earth, Mars, and the sun pulls the spacecraft in different directions. When it is far enough away, it will settle into orbit around the sun. Bucking that gravity requires fuel-intensive maneuvers.

[Related: Signs of past chemical reactions detected on Mars ]

The second challenge is that the planets do not stay in a fixed place. They orbit the sun, each at its own rate: Mars will not be at the same distance from Earth when the spacecraft launches as the Red Planet will be, say, seven months later. 

As such, the most fuel-efficient route to Mars follows an elliptical orbit around the sun, Peck says. Just one-way, that route covers hundreds of millions of miles and takes over half a year, at best. 

But designing a crewed mission to the Red Planet isn’t just about figuring out how fast a spacecraft can get there and back. It’s about “balance,” says Patrick Chai, in-space propulsion lead for NASA’s Mars Architecture Team . “There are a whole bunch of decisions we have to make in terms of how we optimize for certain things. Where do we trade performance for time?” Chai says. “If you just look at one single metric, you can end up making decisions that are really great for that particular metric, but can be problematic in other areas.”

One major trade-off for speed has to do with how much stuff is on board. With current technology, every maneuver to shorten the trip to Mars requires more fuel. 

If you drive a car, you know that in order to accelerate the vehicle, you step on the gas. The same is true in a spacecraft, except that braking and turning also use fuel. To slow down, for instance, a spacecraft fires its thrusters in the opposite direction to its forward motion.

But there are no gas stations in space. More fuel means more mass on board. And more mass requires more fuel to propel that extra mass through the air… and so on. Trimming a round-trip mission down to two years is when this trade-off starts to become exponentially less efficient, Rucker says. At least, that’s with current technology.

New tech to speed up the trip

NASA would like to be able to significantly reduce that timeline. In 2018, the space agency requested proposals for technological systems that could enable small, uncrewed missions to fly from Earth to Mars in 45 days or less . 

At the time, the proposals didn’t gain much traction. But the challenge inspired engineers to design innovative propulsion systems that don’t yet exist. And now, NASA has begun to fund the development of leading contenders. In particular, the space agency has its eye on nuclear propulsion.

Spacecraft currently rely largely on chemical propulsion. “You basically take an oxidizer and a fuel, combine them, and they combust, and that generates heat. You accelerate that heated product through a nozzle to generate thrust,” explains NASA’s Chai. 

Engineers have known for decades that a nuclear-based system could generate more thrust using a significantly smaller amount of fuel than a chemical rocket. They just haven’t built one yet—though that might be about to change.

One of NASA’s nuclear investment projects aims to integrate a nuclear thermal engine into an experimental spacecraft. The Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations , or DRACO, program, is a collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and aims to demonstrate the resulting technology as soon as 2027 .

[Related: Microbes could help us make rocket fuel on Mars ]

The speediest trip to Mars might come from another project, however. This concept, the brainchild of researchers at the University of Florida and supported by a NASA grant, seeks to achieve what Chai calls the “holy grail” of nuclear propulsion: a combination system that pairs nuclear thermal propulsion with an electric kind. 

“We did some preliminary analysis, and it seems like we can get pretty close to [45 days],” says the leader of that project, Ryan Gosse, a professor of practice in the University of Florida’s in-house applied research program, Florida Applied Research in Engineering (FLARE). One caveat: That timeline is for a light payload and no humans on board. However, if the project is successful, the technology could potentially be scaled up in the future to support a crewed mission.

There are two types of nuclear propulsion, and both have their merits. Nuclear thermal propulsion, which uses heat, can generate a lot of thrust quickly from a small amount of fuel. Nuclear electric propulsion, which uses charged particles, is even more fuel-efficient but generates thrust much more slowly.

“While you’re in deep space, the electric propulsion is really great because you have all the time in the world to thrust. The efficiency, the miles per gallon, is far, far superior than the high-thrust,” Chai says. “But when you’re around planets, you want that oomph to get you out of the gravity well.”

The challenge, however, is that both technologies currently require different types of nuclear reactors, says Gosse. And that means two separate systems, which reduces the efficiency of having a nuclear propulsion system. So Gosse and his team are working to develop technology that can use the one system to generate both types of propulsion.

NASA’s Mars architecture team is also working with a bimodal concept that uses a chemical propulsion system to maneuver around planets and solar-powered electric propulsion to do the thrusting in deep space.

“What we are developing is different tools for the toolbox,” says NASA’s Rucker. “One tool isn’t going to be enough to do all of the exploration that we want to do. So we’re working on all of these.”

Like science, tech, and DIY projects?

Sign up to receive Popular Science's emails and get the highlights.

• Virtual Events
• BBC Astronomy
• How we review
• Telescope mounts
• Finderscopes
• Astronomy accessories
• Top astro kit
• Astronomy for beginners
• Astronomy DIY
• Buyers' guides
• Online Planetarium
• Astronomy news
• Astrophoto guides
• Send us your images

How long does it take to get to Mars?

How long would it take to drive or walk to Mars, and how long does it take actual space missions?

Jenny Winder

How long to get to Mars?

If you could jump in a car and travel at 161 kph (100 mph), it would take about 14,583 days or 40 years to reach Mars, but if you wanted some exercise, you could walk (at 6kph or 3.7 mph) and get there in 1,065 years!

Earth and Mars travel around the Sun at different speeds and distances, so the distance between us varies considerably.

Yet a day on Mars is remarkably similar to a day on Earth.

At our furthest distance, we are on opposite sides of the Sun (called a solar conjunction) when we are about 401 million km (249 million miles) apart.

The average distance between Earth and Mars is 225 million km (140 million miles)

The two planets are closest when we are both on the same side of the Sun (called opposition ) at about 56 million km (34.7 million miles) apart. This happens every two years and is our launch window to the Red Planet.

The first successful mission to Mars, Viking 1, launched on 20 August 1975 and landed on Mars on 19 June 1976, ten months later.

The rovers Spirit and Opportunity took just 6 months to reach Mars in 2003 and 2004.

The Curiosity rover launched on 26 November 2011 and landed on Mars on 5 August 2012.

Perseverance rover launched on 30 July 2020 and landed on Mars on 18 February 2021.

Various space agencies are working towards a crewed mission to Mars.

NASA is working towards a 9-month journey, while SpaceX hopes to cut the trip to 6 months.

The time it takes to get from Earth to Mars is mainly dependent on the propulsion method used.

A photon propulsion system is currently in development that would use a powerful laser to accelerate spacecraft to near the speed of light , cutting the journey to just three days!

Share this article

Science writer

• Terms and conditions
• Manage preferences

How long does it take to get to Mars?

Last Updated: December 13, 2022

If you’ve ever looked up at the night sky and wondered what it would be like to visit Mars, you’re not alone. Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has long been the subject of human curiosity and exploration.

For centuries, humans have been fascinated by the red planet, and with recent advances in space technology, the dream of traveling to Mars is closer than ever. But just how long does it take to get there?

The answer, of course, is not a simple one. There are many factors that can affect the duration of a journey to Mars, including the trajectory of the spacecraft, the speed of the spacecraft, and the position of Mars in its orbit around the Sun.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at these factors and provide some examples of past and future missions to Mars to give you a sense of the range of possible travel times.

Going to Mars, Facts to Consider

Mars, the Earth, and all the others planets are constantly revolving around the Sun. This means that their position is always different. For example, Earth moves around the Sun at a speed of 18 miles / 30 kilometers per second.

When we look at Mars, it moves with a speed of 14.3 miles / 23.3 kilometers per second around the Sun. Before starting a trip to mars, astronomers have to calculate the best position to launch a spacecraft toward it. 

This means that they need to estimate at what point in time will the Red Giant be and in what direction the spacecraft will be launched. You also have to consider that you can’t launch a spacecraft at any point in time to reach Mars at an exact timeframe. You have to consider the position of both planets beforehand. 

Take this into consideration. Mars is at an average distance of 140 million miles / 225 million kilometers away from Earth. In 2003, our planets reached their closest point (perihelion) at a distance of only 33.9 million mi / 54.6 million km. However, this approach doesn’t happen every month. It occurs every two years or so. The aphelion or farthest distance between Mars and Earth is at 250 million mi / 401 million km.

Related reading: How Far Away is Mars From Earth Right Now?

You can imagine all the different necessary calculations and estimations that astronomers must go through when preparing for a trip to Mars. Not to mention that you also need to take into account that if you reach Mars, you will also need to stay for several months there until the planets are in the perfect position to maximize your fuel efficiency. 

Some predictions for a human-crewed mission to Mars and back to Earth are situated at the 21-month mark. But it may take more or less depending on the technology involved. You also need to consider all the possible delays or unexpected issues.

The Necessary Speed to Reach Mars

The Apollo 11 mission to the Moon reached an incredible top speed of 25,000 mph to reach the Moon in four days. If you were to go to Mars with the same technology, you would reach it in two and a half months. Yet, you must consider that maintaining this speed for so long is impossible. Not to mention the amount of fuel you would need, which implies a more massive spacecraft to store it, and since the spacecraft size will be different, other factors will affect your speed and fuel consumption.

Currently, the fastest spacecraft we have is NASA’s Parker Solar Probe . In 2021, the Parker Solar Probe reached a top speed of 364,621 mph / 586,000 kph. This is 14.5 times faster than the Apollo 11 spacecraft’s top speed.

If the Parker Solar Probe would be sent to Mars, it may reach it in 16 days. If we were to imagine a straight line between the probe and the Red Planet, and if the probe would be launched at the closest encounter between our two planets, it may reach it in 93 hours or so. However, this isn’t the case when it comes to space travel. Not to mention the issue mentioned earlier, the fact that planets aren’t static, and thus there is no constant distance. 

Astronomers have to predict where a planet will be once they launch a spacecraft. How long it takes to get to Mars depends mostly on where the Red Giant and our planet are situated, when the spacecraft is launched, and what propulsion systems are used. 

According to NASA , a mission to Mars would take around nine months if you begin your trip when the planets are properly lined up. The perfect window to get to Mars from Earth occurs once every 26 months. If we develop better ways to burn up fuel, we could reach Mars even faster, but our current technology is still very limiting.

Related Article: How Much of Space Have We Explored So Far?

Flight time of past missions to Mars

In the history of space exploration, there have been many missions to Mars, some successful and others not. As I mentioned in the intro, Mars has been the subject of interest for scientists for a long time. Especially when it comes to the prospect of finding signs of life on another planet.

Regardless of their different goals, the one thing that all of these missions have in common is that they all took a significant amount of time to reach the red planet. In this section, we’ll take a closer look at the flight times of some of the past missions to Mars and see how they compare to each other.

• Mariner 4 (1964) had a flight time of 228 days.
• Mariner 6 (1969) got to the red planet in 156 days.
• Mariner 7 (1969) got to Mars in 128 days.
• Mariner 9 (1971) reached the red planet in 167 days.
• Viking 1 (1976) took on an 11-month cruise to Mars.
• Viking 2 (1976) had a flight time of 360 days.
• Mars Odyssey (2001) reached the dusty planet in about 200 days.
• Mars Express (2003) completed its journey in around 6 months.
• Opportunity Rover (2003) landed on Marse after 201 days spent in space.
• Spirit (2003) touched down in Gusev crater after traveling for 179 days.
• Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (2005) took 210 days to reach its destination.
• Phoenix (2007) completed its travel to Mars in  295 days
• Curiosity (2011) touched down on the martian surface after a trip lasting 253 days.
• MAVEN (2013) entered the martian orbit after a 10-month trip.
• Insight (2018) reached Mars in 206 days.
• Perseverance, the latest rover to make it to Marse, did the trip Earth-Mars in 204 days.

Future Missions to Mars

Technology always evolves, and astronomers are always looking for new ways to conduct space missions and shorten their flights. NASA already works on something new that may help Mars missions. 

The Space Launch System (SLS) is under construction and will conduct various tests that will help upcoming Missions to Mars, perhaps even manned missions. One of the first SLS rockets being designed for future Mars and Moon missions is the Artemis 1.

Artemis 1 just recently completed a near-flawless mission to the Moon and broke Apollo 13’s flight distance record. It is currently the most powerful rocket ever built. The future Artemis missions to the Moon will help establish new technologies and strategies to reach Mars. 

With our current technology, we need more field tests in order to be sure of what is to come. However, the successful mission of Artemis 1 proves once again that mankind’s determination is unyielding. Through Artemis 2 , we might have a new crew land on the Moon as soon as 2024 or 2025. Any successful mission on the Moon brings us closer to planetary missions, and the good news is that nowadays there are more space companies willing to do the job than ever before!

Reaching Mars at the Speed of Light

If you were to go to Mars using the speed of light , you would reach it in about three minutes at their closest possible approach. The speed of light is around 186,000 mi / 300,000 km per second. Reaching the speed of light is a goal for any interplanetary mission. However, it is unknown if humans can travel at such speed without consequences or if it is possible to reach this speed at all.

Between the first moon landing and the commercialization of spaceships are only 50 years of rapid development. The impending collaborations of multinational associations like NASA, Roscosmos, CSA, and private companies are set to be game changers for humanity. The upcoming decade promises entirely new opportunities, from Moon settlements and out-worldly discoveries to breathtaking experiences accessible for tourists and businessmen alike. 

Written by Hrenciuc Daniel

Hello, my name is Daniel and I am a space enthusiast. I love everything related to space and SCFI, and although I like both Star Wars and Star Trek, I believe we will find something entirely different out there. I am an astronomy writer with a passion for both history and mythology. Each star has its tale. Let me tell you their story!

Explore more space travel stories 🚀

This page is part of our collection of articles about astronauts . If you enjoyed the read, then you’ll love the following articles.

How long does it take to reach the Moon?

How long does it take to reach the Uranus?

Countdown to Saturn: The Travel Time Involved

Traveling to Jupiter: How Long is the Journey?

How Long Does it Take to Get to The Sun?

How long does it take to get to each planet?

Mon 22 Apr 2024

2024 newspaper of the year

@ Contact us

Your newsletters

How long does it take to get to Mars, and how far is it? Nasa Perseverance rover’s landing mission explained

It took around seven months for nasa's perseverance rover to reach the red planet.

Nasa’s Perseverance rover has landed safely on Mars, starting a new mission to look for signs of ancient life.

The rover left Earth at the end of July last year, and after a tense few moments ahead of landing, it confirmed its successful arrival.

But just how far away is Mars and how long does it take it get there?

How far away is Mars?

The distance between Earth and Mars is not always the same, as both planets are on constant orbits around the Sun.

The Nasa Perseverance travelled around 293 million miles (471 million kilometers) to get to Mars.

According to Nasa , the closest the two planets can theoretically be to each other is 33.9 million miles (54.6 million kilometers).

The closest recorded distance to Mars was in 2003 when Mars was recorded as 34.8 million miles (56 million km) – but the next time they are expected to come this close is the year 2287.

The last Mars “close approach” was in October 2020, when Mars was 38.6 million miles (62.07 million kilometers) from Earth.

Close approaches, which happen around every 26 months, are a good time to plan missions to Mars, Nasa said, as Earth and Mars are closest together on their orbits.

The furthest the two planets can be from each other is around 250 million miles (401 million km) apart.

How long does it take to get to Mars?

The time it takes to get to Mars varies, as of course, it’s not a staightforward journey.

It took the Perseverance around 7 months to get to Mars.

Past missions to Mars, including flybys, have varied in time, taking between 128 days and around 330 days to make the journey.

According to Space.com , travelling at the speed of light, (186,282 miles per second/299,792 km per second) it would take a minimum of just over three minutes to reach Mars.

On average, a light shined on to the red planet’s surface would take around 12 and a half minutes to reach it’s destination.

How did the Nasa Perserverance rover landed on the red planet?

Nasa’s Mars Perseverance rover launched on July 30, 2020, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida in the US.

It travelled for around seven months before landing safely on the surface of the red planet on February 18, 2021 just before 9pm (GMT).

Confirmation of the safe landing took more than 11 minutes to reach Earth and was met by jubilation from Nasa scientists, after a few tense minutes.

I’m safe on Mars. Perseverance will get you anywhere. #CountdownToMars — NASA's Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) February 18, 2021

Steve Jurczyk, Nasa’s acting administrator, said: “It’s amazing to have Perseverance join Curiosity on Mars and what a credit to the team.

“Just what an amazing team to work through all the adversity and all the challenges that go with landing a rover on Mars, plus the challenges of Covid.

“And just an amazing accomplishment.”

The rover has since sent back pictures of the planet’s rocky surface, and more footage is expected from the robot soon.

The mission’s goal is to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples for a future return to Earth from diverse environments on Mars.

Perseverance will gather rock and soil samples using its drill, and will store the sample cores in tubes on the Martian surface ready for a return mission to bring around 30 samples to Earth in the early 2030s.

It will also include testing out new technologies and try out the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter.

Additional reporting by PA.

Most Read By Subscribers

Distance to Mars: How far away is the Red Planet?

The distance to Mars from Earth is not that simple.

Mars orbit, opposition and viewing opportunities

Mars close approach, distance between mars and the sun, measuring the distance between earth and mars, additional resources.

The distance to Mars from Earth varies considerably depending on their orbits around the sun . 

In theory, the closest Mars and Earth would get is when Mars reaches its closest point to the sun (perihelion) and Earth is at its farthest (aphelion). This would bring the two planets within 33.9 million miles (54.6 million kilometers) of each other — but this has not yet happened in recorded history according to NASA . 

The closest recorded distance to Mars from Earth was recorded in August 2003 when the two were 34.8 million miles (56 million km) apart. According to NASA, the two will not be that close again until the year 2237. 

Related: How long does it take to get to Mars?  

Mars and Earth are farthest apart when they are both at aphelion and on opposite sides of the sun. Here, they can be 250 million miles (401 million km) apart according to the New York Times . The average distance between Earth and Mars is 140 million miles (225 million km). 

To understand how the distance between Mars and Earth differs so much, we need to look at their orbits. 

Neither Earth or Mars' orbit is perfectly circular, so the distance between the two is constantly changing. Think of the planets as two cars on a racetrack, with Earth on the inside lane moving faster than Mars — completing roughly two laps in the same time it takes Mars to complete one.

Mars opposition occurs when Earth "catches up" to Mars and is positioned between the sun and the Red Planet. During Mars oppositions, from Earth, we can see Mars rise in the east as the sun sets in the west, with the Red Planet being visible in our skies all night long. Such oppositions occur roughly every 26 months. Every 15 to 17 years we witness very close Mars oppositions when Earth passes between Mars and the sun during Mars' perihelion (closest point to the sun). 

The Red Planet makes for an interesting observing target in the night sky. It appears very bright and is visible even with the naked eye. 

If you're looking for a telescope or binoculars to observe Mars, check our guide for the best binoculars deals and the best telescope deals now . If you need imaging gear, consider our best cameras for astrophotography and the best lenses for astrophotography . 

Mars makes a close approach to Earth roughly every 26 months — the same frequency as opposition occurs, according to NASA. Due to their orbital mechanics, the closest approach can occur a few days before or after opposition depending on whether Mars is moving away from the Earth and sun or towards the Earth and sun respectively, according to Celestron . 

– What is the temperature on Mars?  

– A brief history of Mars missions  

– How was Mars made?  

Not only does this time make for great skywatching opportunities but is also the best time to launch a spacecraft to the Red Planet. Many missions have taken advantage of the close distance to Mars which is why you'll often see Mars missions launch (if budget allows) every two years. 

In 2020, The UAE's Hope mission launched from Japan's Tanegashima Space Center on Jul. 19, China's Tianwen-1 mission launched from Hainan Island's Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on Jul. 23 and NASA's Mars 2020 mission launched from Florida's Space Coast on Jul. 30, carrying the Perseverance rover . According to The Planetary Society , this was the first time three different countries have launched missions during the same window of opportunity.  

The average distance between Mars and the sun is 142 million miles (228 million kilometers). According to a NASA fact sheet , due to Mars' eccentric orbit, at its closest (perihelion) Mars is about 128 million miles (206 million km) from the sun and at its farthest distance (aphelion) Mars is about 154 million miles (249 million km) from the sun. 

According to the Teacher's Guide to the Universe from Princeton University, the distance between Earth and Mars was first determined by Giovanni Cassini in 1672 using the parallax method .

Cassini achieved this by sending his fellow astronomer Jean Richer to French Guiana to carry out measurements while he remained in Paris. They took measurements of the position of Mars and triangulated those measurements with the known distance between Paris and French Guiana. Cassini's calculation was only off by 7% compared to today's more accurate measurements. 

Nowadays, with several spacecraft orbiting or roaming along the surface of the Red Planet, scientists can use the speed of light to determine how far away Mars is from Earth, by measuring the time it takes for signals to reach Martian spacecraft, according to Universe Today .  

To find out how far away Mars is from Earth right now, check out this guide from The Sky Live. For a nice visualization of the distance between Earth and Mars and the time, it would take light to travel between the two, this animation by James O'Donoghue is a good resource. You can learn more about missions to Mars with NASA .  

Bibliography

• Conte, Davide, and David B. Spencer. " Mission analysis for Earth to Mars-Phobos distant Retrograde Orbits. " Acta Astronautica 151 (2018): 761-771. 
• NASA’s Mars 2020 Project, Report No. IG-17-009, Jan. 30, 2017. 
• Bell, J. F., et al. " Hubble space telescope imaging and spectroscopy of Mars during the extremely close approach of 2003 ." AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts. 2003 

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Get the Space.com Newsletter

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Daisy Dobrijevic joined Space.com in February 2022 having previously worked for our sister publication All About Space magazine as a staff writer. Before joining us, Daisy completed an editorial internship with the BBC Sky at Night Magazine and worked at the National Space Centre in Leicester, U.K., where she enjoyed communicating space science to the public. In 2021, Daisy completed a PhD in plant physiology and also holds a Master's in Environmental Science, she is currently based in Nottingham, U.K. Daisy is passionate about all things space, with a penchant for solar activity and space weather. She has a strong interest in astrotourism and loves nothing more than a good northern lights chase! 

Car-size asteroid gives Earth a super-close shave with flyby closer than some satellites

SpaceX launches advanced weather satellite for US Space Force (video)

NASA satellite's 'shocking' space junk near-miss was even closer than thought

Most Popular

• 2 NASA's Juno probe captures amazing views of Jupiter's volcanic moon Io (video)
• 3 NASA's Artemis 3 astronauts will put a moonquake detector on lunar surface
• 4 Ingenuity's travels: New NASA video tracks Mars helicopter's 72 flights
• 5 Private space-junk probe to conduct up-close inspection of spent rocket stage

Disclaimer: The following material is being kept online for archival purposes.

Although accurate at the time of publication, it is no longer being updated. the page may contain broken links or outdated information, and parts may not function in current web browsers., #21b     flight to mars: how long along what path, above is background material for archival reference only..

• How Long Would It Take To Travel To Mars?

Humanity has dreamed of travelling to Mars for decades. As of yet, the only place humans have set foot on (other than Earth) is the moon . The moon presented humanity with one of its greatest challenges, yet in 1969, NASA overcame the challenge when the astronauts of Apollo 11 set foot on the lunar surface. Ever since the Apollo Program ended, NASA has slowly been developing the technology required to send humans to Mars. One of the primary purposes of the International Space Station has been to study the long term effects of space travel on the human body. In order for humans to eventually travel to Mars, they will need to survive in space for extended periods of time, yet just how long would it take to travel to Mars?

Distance To Mars

Mars is the second closest planet to Earth after Venus , yet it is still very far away. On average, the distance between Mars and Earth is about 140 million miles (225 million kilometres). To traverse that distance would likely take several months to years depending on how fast of a rocket you have. However, the distance between Mars and Earth actually changes. Both Mars and Earth orbit the sun in ellipses, meaning the  distance between them and the sun changes during their orbits. When the Earth is at furthest point from the sun and Mars is at its closest approach, the two planets are at their closest distance. When Mars and Earth happen to align in just the right way, the distance between them can be 34 million miles (54.6 million kilometres). That is significantly lower than the average distance between the two planets, and so it would make sense to send humans to Mars when the two planets are at their closest approach to each other. Unfortunately, this alignment does not happen often. The closest distance between Earth and Mars ever recorded was in 2003, when the two planets came within 35 million miles (56 million kilometres) of each other. An event such as this will only occur every couple hundred years, with the next closest approach predicted to happen in the year 2237. 

Mars and Earth rarely lineup so that the distance between them is at its minimum, but astronomers still take advantage of the fact that, at some points in their orbits, Mars and Earth are much closer together than on average. Every 26 months, Mars and Earth line up in such a way that it is most efficient to send spacecraft to the Red Planet. This means that there is one launch window to Mars every 26 months. 

Speed Of A Rocket

The distance to Mars itself is not the only factor that will determine how long it takes to travel to Mars. The speed at which a spacecraft moves will also determine the length of the trip. Past missions to Mars have generally taken anywhere from 128 days to nearly one full year. With current technology and rocket designs, NASA estimates that the first rockets carrying humans to Mars will achieve speeds of about 24,600 miles per hour (39,600 kilometres per hour). Moving at these speeds, it would take approximately seven months to reach the surface of Mars.

What If You Went Faster?

Assuming the technology is advanced enough, how quickly could you reach Mars? Currently, the fastest human-made object is the Parker Solar Probe, which has achieved speeds of 364,660 miles per hour (586,860 kilometers kilometres per hour). Moving at this speed, it would take about two weeks to reach Mars while it’s at its average distance from Earth. Travelling to Mars within only two weeks would be astonishing, yet unfortunately it would not be possible with current technology. The Parker Solar Probe has been able to attain such extreme speeds by slingshotting itself around the sun multiple times. In the far future, if humanity ever develops the technology to travel near the speed of light , we could travel to Mars in less than five minutes. For now, the first astronauts to travel to Mars will have to wait several months in space before arriving at the Red Planet. 

More in Science

Where Do Most Earthquakes Occur In The US?

Black Holes Might be Defects in Space and Time

How Are Earthquakes Measured Using The Richter Scale?

How Many New Species Are Discovered Every Year?

Where Does The Sun Rise And Set?

How Hot Is The Sun?

How Many Planets Are In The Milky Way?

The Upcoming 2024 Total Eclipse

The way forward to Mars

NOTE: In March 2022 the second part of the ExoMars mission was put on hold but this article and related graphics remain for background

The path that ExoMars 2022 will follow to reach the Red Planet is set. The trajectory that will take the spacecraft from Earth to Mars in 264 days foresees a touchdown on the martian surface on 10 June 2023, at around 17:30 CEST (15:30 UTC).

The weather at Mars, the type of launcher and the laws of physics governing the planets determined a 12-day launch window starting on 20 September 2022.

Efficient orbital transfers, good communications and no large dust storms on the martian horizon make the chosen trajectory the fastest and safest choice.

Choosing the best path

When confronted with how to get to Mars, European and Russian teams have to juggle many factors. The mission analysis team at the European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Germany took into account the performance of Russia’s Proton launcher to identify a number of possible trajectories.

“We had several transfer trajectories to choose from and a spacecraft already built for the trip,” says Mattia Mercolino, ExoMars principal systems engineer. “These variables imposed on us constraints linked to power, temperature thresholds and orientation towards Earth during the first stages of the flight, among others.”

Being able to communicate with the spacecraft also played a major role. 

“One of the alternatives had a longer launch window, but a worse connection with the spacecraft during the first days. This choice was too risky, especially when you want to have full control at the beginning of the mission,” explains Tiago Loureiro, ExoMars spacecraft operations manager.

The final trajectory takes a bit longer – one week more – and the launch sequence requires more manoeuvres, but this wasn’t only about earthly constraints. “We needed to understand the challenges unique to our destination. Mars orbital characteristics and dust storms were crucial to our decision,” says Tiago.

Riders on the storm

Dust storms are frequent on Mars, but also difficult to predict. Seasons play a role, with stormy weather more likely to happen during the spring and summer in the southern hemisphere. ExoMars landing site is Oxia Planum, located in the northern hemisphere.

Threatening global-scale dust storms tend to happen approximately every ten years. The most recent one was in 2018.

Although ExoMars will land outside the dust storm season, a build-up of dust on the solar panels will reduce power supply and could even force a temporary shutdown of ESA’s Rosalind Franklin rover and the Russian surface platform, dubbed Kazachok.

“We went through a number of studies and tests to ensure that all systems would survive with reduced sunlight upon the late afternoon landing, and during surface operations the following weeks,” adds Tiago.

European scientists want to operate the rover on Mars for as long as possible. Rosalind Franklin can cope with regional dust storms for a few days and with layers of fine dust covering its solar panels.

“A global dust storm that blankets the atmosphere for several months would most likely result in the death of the rover,” warns Jorge Vago, ESA’s ExoMars rover project scientist.

“That is why it is so important to achieve most of the mission objectives before the problematic dust season starts,” he adds.

Earth at work

It took the teams at ESOC a few months of work to narrow down the final launch date and trajectory to Mars. “The whole challenge is fantastic – I think I have the best job in the world,” says Tiago.

“Launching a spacecraft, shooting it across the Solar System, hoping it lands in one piece, deploying it, driving it on Mars… And we will do all of this without the luxury of interacting with the spacecraft or the rover in real time,” he explains.

Sending the first European rover to Mars requires true teamwork. Each and every command has been carefully planned together with the Russian partners, involving several control centres and countries.

ESA will control the communications between Rosalind Franklin and the Kazachok surface platform during their first days on Mars. As part of the ExoMars programme, the Trace Gas Orbiter , which has been circling Mars for nearly four years, will serve as a data relay platform to support communications.

A few weeks after landing, and only when the surface platform is safe and able to operate independently, ESA will hand over the control of Kazachok to Roscosmos.

About ExoMars

The ExoMars programme is a joint endeavour between the Roscosmos State Corporation and ESA. Apart from the 2022 mission, it includes the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) launched in 2016. The TGO is already both delivering important scientific results obtained by its own Russian and European science instruments and relaying data from NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover and InSight lander. The module will also relay the data from the ExoMars 2022 mission once it arrives on Mars.

Thank you for liking

You have already liked this page, you can only like it once!

Related Articles

All instruments onboard Rosalind Franklin rover

ExoMars laboratory passes Red Planet simulation

A European mission control for the martian rover

Related links.

ExoMars in depth

Spacecraft Operations

ExoMars Factsheet

ExoMars 2016 FAQs

Exomars 2016 brochure.

Mission operations in depth

Mars Express

Exomars at iki.

ExoMars TGO at NASA

Suggested Searches

• Climate Change
• Expedition 64
• Mars perseverance
• SpaceX Crew-2
• International Space Station
• View All Topics A-Z

Humans in Space

Earth & climate, the solar system, the universe, aeronautics, learning resources, news & events.

Join NASA in Celebrating Earth Day 2024 by Sharing a #GlobalSelfie

NASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Change

The Ocean Touches Everything: Celebrate Earth Day with NASA

• Search All NASA Missions
• A to Z List of Missions
• Upcoming Launches and Landings
• Spaceships and Rockets
• Communicating with Missions
• James Webb Space Telescope
• Hubble Space Telescope
• Why Go to Space
• Astronauts Home
• Commercial Space
• Destinations
• Living in Space
• Explore Earth Science
• Earth, Our Planet
• Earth Science in Action
• Earth Multimedia
• Earth Science Researchers
• Pluto & Dwarf Planets
• Asteroids, Comets & Meteors
• The Kuiper Belt
• The Oort Cloud
• Skywatching
• The Search for Life in the Universe
• Black Holes
• The Big Bang
• Dark Energy & Dark Matter
• Earth Science
• Planetary Science
• Astrophysics & Space Science
• The Sun & Heliophysics
• Biological & Physical Sciences
• Lunar Science
• Citizen Science
• Astromaterials
• Aeronautics Research
• Human Space Travel Research
• Science in the Air
• NASA Aircraft
• Flight Innovation
• Supersonic Flight
• Air Traffic Solutions
• Green Aviation Tech
• Drones & You
• Technology Transfer & Spinoffs
• Space Travel Technology
• Technology Living in Space
• Manufacturing and Materials
• Science Instruments
• For Kids and Students
• For Educators
• For Colleges and Universities
• For Professionals
• Science for Everyone
• Requests for Exhibits, Artifacts, or Speakers
• STEM Engagement at NASA
• NASA's Impacts
• Centers and Facilities
• Directorates
• Organizations
• People of NASA
• Internships
• Our History
• Doing Business with NASA
• Get Involved
• Aeronáutica
• Ciencias Terrestres
• Sistema Solar
• All NASA News
• Video Series on NASA+
• Newsletters
• Social Media
• Media Resources
• Upcoming Launches & Landings
• Virtual Events
• Sounds and Ringtones
• Interactives
• STEM Multimedia

Work Underway on Large Cargo Landers for NASA’s Artemis Moon Missions

Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover

NASA Open Science Initiative Expands OpenET Across Amazon Basin  

NASA Motion Sickness Study Volunteers Needed!

Students Celebrate Rockets, Environment at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

AI for Earth: How NASA’s Artificial Intelligence and Open Science Efforts Combat Climate Change

Sols 4159-4160: A Fully Loaded First Sol

NASA’s Juno Gives Aerial Views of Mountain, Lava Lake on Io

Hubble Captures a Bright Galactic and Stellar Duo

NASA’s TESS Returns to Science Operations

Astronauts To Patch Up NASA’s NICER Telescope

Hubble Goes Hunting for Small Main Belt Asteroids

NASA’s Near Space Network Enables PACE Climate Mission to ‘Phone Home’

NASA Photographer Honored for Thrilling Inverted In-Flight Image

NASA Langley Team to Study Weather During Eclipse Using Uncrewed Vehicles

ARMD Solicitations

Amendment 10: B.9 Heliophysics Low-Cost Access to Space Final Text and Proposal Due Date.

Tech Today: Taking Earth’s Pulse with NASA Satellites

Earth Day 2024: Posters and Virtual Backgrounds

NASA Names Finalists of the Power to Explore Challenge

Diez maneras en que los estudiantes pueden prepararse para ser astronautas

Astronauta de la NASA Marcos Berríos

Resultados científicos revolucionarios en la estación espacial de 2023

Nasa releases plan outlining next steps in the journey to mars.

Erin Mahoney

NASA is leading our nation and the world on a journey to Mars, and Thursday the agency released a detailed outline of that plan in its report, “NASA’s Journey to Mars: Pioneering Next Steps in Space Exploration.”

“NASA is closer to sending American astronauts to Mars than at any point in our history,” said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. “Today, we are publishing additional details about our journey to Mars plan and how we are aligning all of our work in support of this goal. In the coming weeks, I look forward to continuing to discuss the details of our plan with members of Congress, as well as our commercial and our international and partners, many of whom will be attending the International Astronautical Congress next week.”

The plan can be read online at:

http://go.nasa.gov/1VHDXxg

The journey to Mars crosses three thresholds, each with increasing challenges as humans move farther from Earth. NASA is managing these challenges by developing and demonstrating capabilities in incremental steps:

Earth Reliant exploration is focused on research aboard the International Space Station . From this world-class microgravity laboratory, we are testing technologies and advancing human health and performance research that will enable deep space, long duration missions.

In the Proving Ground , NASA will learn to conduct complex operations in a deep space environment that allows crews to return to Earth in a matter of days. Primarily operating in cislunar space—the volume of space around the moon featuring multiple possible stable staging orbits for future deep space missions—NASA will advance and validate capabilities required for humans to live and work at distances much farther away from our home planet, such as at Mars.

Earth Independent activities build on what we learn on the space station and in deep space to enable human missions to the Mars vicinity, possibly to low-Mars orbit or one of the Martian moons, and eventually the Martian surface. Future Mars missions will represent a collaborative effort between NASA and its partners—a global achievement that marks a transition in humanity’s expansion as we go to Mars to seek the potential for sustainable life beyond Earth.

“NASA’s strategy connects near-term activities and capability development to the journey to Mars and a future with a sustainable human presence in deep space,” said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations at NASA Headquarters. “This strategy charts a course toward horizon goals, while delivering near-term benefits, and defining a resilient architecture that can accommodate budgetary changes, political priorities, new scientific discoveries, technological breakthroughs, and evolving partnerships.”

NASA is charting new territory, and we will adapt to new scientific discoveries and new opportunities. Our current efforts are focused on pieces of the architecture that we know are needed. In parallel, we continue to refine an evolving architecture for the capabilities that require further investigation. These efforts will define the next two decades on the journey to Mars.

CHALLENGES FOR SPACE PIONEERS

Living and working in space require accepting risks—and the journey to Mars is worth the risks. A new and powerful space transportation system is key to the journey, but NASA also will need to learn new ways of operating in space, based on self-reliance and increased system reliability. We will use proving ground missions to validate transportation and habitation capabilities as well as new operational approaches to stay productive in space while reducing reliance on Earth.

We identify the technological and operational challenges in three categories: transportation , sending humans and cargo through space efficiently, safely, and reliably; working in space, enabling productive operations for crew and robotic systems; and staying healthy, developing habitation systems that provide safe, healthy, and sustainable human exploration. Bridging these three categories are the overarching logistical challenges facing crewed missions lasting up to 1,100 days and exploration campaigns that span decades.

STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS TO ADDRESS PIONEERING CHALLENGES

NASA is investing in powerful capabilities and state-of-the-art technologies that benefit both NASA and our industry partners while minimizing overall costs through innovative partnerships. Through our evolvable transportation infrastructure, ongoing spaceflight architecture studies, and rapid prototyping activities, we are developing resilient architecture concepts that focus on critical capabilities across a range of potential missions. We are investing in technologies that provide large returns, and maximizing flexibility and adaptability through commonality, modularity, and reusability.

On the space station, we are advancing human health and behavioral research for Mars-class missions. We are pushing the state-of-the-art life support systems, printing 3-D parts, and analyzing material handling techniques for in-situ resource utilization. The upcoming eighth SpaceX commercial resupply services mission will launch the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module , a capability demonstration for inflatable space habitats.

With the Space Launch System , Orion crewed spacecraft , and revitalized space launch complex , we are developing core transportation capabilities for the journey to Mars and ensuring continued access for our commercial crew and cargo partners to maintain operations and stimulate new economic activity in low-Earth orbit.  This secured U.S. commercial access to low-Earth orbit allows NASA to continue leveraging the station as a microgravity test bed while preparing for missions in the proving ground of deep space and beyond.

Through the Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), we will demonstrate an advanced solar electric propulsion capability that will be a critical component of our journey to Mars. ARM will also provide an unprecedented opportunity for us to validate new spacewalk and sample handling techniques as astronauts investigate several tons of an asteroid boulder – potentially opening new scientific discoveries about the formation of our solar system and beginning of life on Earth

We are managing and directing the ground-based facilities and services provided by the  Deep Space Network (DSN) ,  Near Earth Network (NEN) , and Space Network (SN) – critical communications capabilities that we continue to advance for human and robotic communication throughout the solar system.

Through our robotic emissaries, we have already been on and around Mars for 40 years, taking nearly every opportunity to send orbiters, landers, and rovers with increasingly complex experiments and sensing systems. These orbiters and rovers have returned vital data about the Martian environment, helping us understand what challenges we may face and resources we may encounter. The revolutionary Curiosity sky crane placed nearly one metric ton – about the size of a small car – safely on the surface of Mars, but we need to be able to land at least 10 times that weight with humans – and then be able to get them off the surface.

These challenges are solvable, and NASA and its partners are working on the solutions every day so we can answer some of humanity’s fundamental questions about life beyond Earth: Was Mars home to microbial life? Is it today? Could it be a safe home for humans one day? What can it teach us about life elsewhere in the cosmos or how life began on Earth? What can it teach us about Earth’s past, present and future?

The journey to Mars is an historic pioneering endeavor—a journey made possible by a sustained effort of science and exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit with successively more capable technologies and partnerships.

To learn more about NASA’s journey to Mars, including the agency’s latest scientific exploration of the Red Planet, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/index.html

Stephanie Schierholz Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 [email protected]

Shop Our Online Science Store

Battery-powered balancing robot diy stem kit.

• $8.99 $4.95

Solar + Battery Car DIY STEM Kit

• $11.99 $5.95

Doodling Shake Bot DIY STEM Kit

Fan micro car diy stem kit.

• $9.99 $4.95

Simple DC Motor DIY STEM Kit

• $7.99 $4.95

Flashing LED Circuit DIY Electronics Kit

• $4.99 $2.59

Solar & Battery Fan DIY STEM Kit

• $9.99 $5.95

3-in-1 Alternative Energy Car DIY STEM Kit

• $19.99 $14.95
• Privacy Policy
• Cookie Policy

Learning Space

Teachable Moments

Stay Connected

Mars in a Minute: How Do You Get to Mars?

Video Transcript

How do you get to Mars?

If you want to send a spacecraft all the way to Mars, first you'll need a fast rocket to escape the pull of Earth's gravity. The heavier your spacecraft, the more powerful your rocket needs to be to lift off.

Next, make sure you launch at the right time. Mars and Earth orbit the sun at different speeds and distances. Sometimes they're really far apart, and other times they come closer together. About every two years, the two planets are in perfect positions to get to Mars with the least amount of rocket fuel. That's important. The total trip is 300 million miles.

Finally, make sure your aim is right. You can't shoot for where Mars is at launch time. You have to aim for where it will be when you get there. It's a lot like how a quarterback passes a football.

Also, you may need a few thrusts to correct your direction along the way so you don't miss Mars.

If all goes well, you'll get to the Red Planet in about seven or eight months.

Then, if you actually want to land on Mars, well that's a whole other challenge.

How to get people from Earth to Mars and safely back again

Lecturer, Centre for Hypersonics, The University of Queensland

Disclosure statement

Chris James receives funding from the Australian Research Council.

University of Queensland provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

View all partners

There are many things humanity must overcome before any return journey to Mars is launched.

The two major players are NASA and SpaceX, which work together intimately on missions to the International Space Station but have competing ideas of what a crewed Mars mission would look like.

Size matters

The biggest challenge (or constraint) is the mass of the payload (spacecraft, people, fuel, supplies etc) needed to make the journey.

We still talk about launching something into space being like launching its weight in gold.

The payload mass is usually just a small percentage of the total mass of the launch vehicle.

Read more: Buried lakes of salty water on Mars may provide conditions for life

For example, the Saturn V rocket that launched Apollo 11 to the Moon weighed 3,000 tonnes.

But it could launch only 140 tonnes (5% of its initial launch mass) to low Earth orbit, and 50 tonnes (less than 2% of its initial launch mass) to the Moon.

Mass constrains the size of a Mars spacecraft and what it can do in space. Every manoeuvre costs fuel to fire rocket motors, and this fuel must currently be carried into space on the spacecraft.

SpaceX’s plan is for its crewed Starship vehicle to be refuelled in space by a separately launched fuel tanker. That means much more fuel can be carried into orbit than could be carried on a single launch.

Time matters

Another challenge, intimately connected with fuel, is time.

Missions that send spacecraft with no crew to the outer planets often travel complex trajectories around the Sun. They use what are called gravity assist manoeuvres to effectively slingshot around different planets to gain enough momentum to reach their target.

This saves a lot of fuel, but can result in missions that take years to reach their destinations. Clearly this is something humans would not want to do.

Both Earth and Mars have (almost) circular orbits and a manoeuvre known as the Hohmann transfer is the most fuel-efficient way to travel between two planets. Basically, without going into too much detail, this is where a spacecraft does a single burn into an elliptical transfer orbit from one planet to the other.

A Hohmann transfer between Earth and Mars takes around 259 days (between eight and nine months) and is only possible approximately every two years due to the different orbits around the Sun of Earth and Mars.

A spacecraft could reach Mars in a shorter time (SpaceX is claiming six months ) but — you guessed it — it would cost more fuel to do it that way.

Safe landing

Suppose our spacecraft and crew get to Mars. The next challenge is landing.

A spacecraft entering Earth is able to use the drag generated by interaction with the atmosphere to slow down. This allows the craft to land safely on the Earth’s surface (provided it can survive the related heating).

But the atmosphere on Mars is about 100 times thinner than Earth’s. That means less potential for drag, so it isn’t possible to land safely without some kind of aid.

Some missions have landed on airbags (such as NASA’s Pathfider mission) while others have used thrusters (NASA’s Phoenix mission). The latter, once again, requires more fuel.

• Life on Mars

A Martian day lasts 24 hours and 37 minutes but the similarities with Earth stop there.

The thin atmosphere on Mars means it can’t retain heat as well as Earth does, so life on Mars is characterised by large extremes in temperature during the day/night cycle.

Mars has a maximum temperature of 30°C, which sounds quite pleasant, but its minimum temperature is -140°C, and its average temperature is -63°C . The average winter temperature at the Earth’s South Pole is about -49°C .

So we need to be very selective about where we choose to live on Mars and how we manage temperature during the night.

The gravity on Mars is 38% of Earth’s (so you’d feel lighter) but the air is principally carbon dioxide (CO₂) with several percent of nitrogen, so it’s completely unbreathable. We would need to build a climate-controlled place just to live there.

SpaceX plans to launch several cargo flights including critical infrastructure such as greenhouses, solar panels and — you guessed it — a fuel-production facility for return missions to Earth.

Life on Mars would be possible and several simulation trials have already been done on Earth to see how people would cope with such an existence.

Return to Earth

The final challenge is the return journey and getting people safely back to Earth.

Apollo 11 entered Earth’s atmosphere at about 40,000km/h, which is just below the velocity required to escape Earth’s orbit.

Spacecraft returning from Mars will have re-entry velocities from 47,000km/h to 54,000km/h, depending on the orbit they use to arrive at Earth.

Read more: Dear diary: the Sun never set on the Arctic Mars simulation

They could slow down into low orbit around Earth to around 28,800km/h before entering our atmosphere but — you guessed it — they’d need extra fuel to do that.

If they just barrel into the atmosphere, it will do all of the deceleration for them. We just need to make sure we don’t kill the astronauts with G-forces or burn them up due to excess heating.

These are just some of the challenges facing a Mars mission and all of the technological building blocks to achieve this are there. We just need to spend the time and the money and bring it all together.

• Rocket science
• Mars colony

Senior Lecturer - Earth System Science

Operations Coordinator

Sydney Horizon Educators (Identified)

Deputy Social Media Producer

Associate Professor, Occupational Therapy