How long is it to fly to Mars? How long does it take to fly to Mars from Earth - time and routes Speed of light from earth to Mars

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How long does it take to get to Mars? This question caught my attention while watching another documentary about the solar system and the future expedition to Mars. When (I really hope not if) it takes place, it will be a giant leap for humanity and the beginning of a real space age. I tried to find the most interesting information on this topic and this is what I came up with...

How far is Mars from Earth? How long does it take to get to Mars? In our article we will try to find out: How many kilometers from Mars to Earth? How long does it take to fly to Mars?

To determine how long it will take to fly to Mars, we need to identify a number of factors: first, determine the current position of the planets, gradually moving to the use of high-tech devices necessary for the flight.

How far is Mars from Earth? How many kilometers will you have to cover? As you know from the initial physics course, in order to determine the time of movement between objects, you need to know the distance between them. In our case, the objects are planets. Mars is one of the so-called “terrestrial” planets; in terms of proximity to the Sun, Mars is in fourth place. But Mars is second in proximity to Earth; Venus has overtaken it.

Since the Sun holds the planets at different distances (orbits), the distance between Mars and Earth changes.
In 2003, the distance was 55 million km. At this time, the Hubble Space Telescope took the picture.
Theoretically, the maximum approach of Mars to the Earth is possible if certain conditions are met: Mars is at the Perihelion orbital point, and the Earth is at the Aphelion point. In this case, the distance would be 54.6 million km (33.9 million miles).
Unfortunately, humanity has not yet been lucky enough to witness such an arrangement of planets.

As mentioned in our article earlier, the closest planet Mars and planet Earth were in 2003. The maximum distance between planets is possible when the planets are on sides opposite to the sun. At this location, the interplanetary distance will be 401 million km. The average distance is 225 million km.

From the same basic physics course, we know that the speed of light is approximately 186 thousand miles per second. or 299 thousand km/sec.
That is:

if Mars and Earth are as close to each other as possible, the rays, reflected from Mars, will hit Earth in 3 minutes;
if the planets are at the midpoint of approach - about 13 minutes;
if the planets are as distant as possible - 22 minutes.

A very interesting film about a future flight to Mars (I wanted to watch it quickly, but I sat through the entire film):

On January 19, 2006, the fastest automatic space station, New Horizons, was launched. Its speed is 16.26 km/s. The interplanetary spacecraft's mission was to study Pluto.
Having sent the New Horizons interplanetary spacecraft to Mars at the same speed, it will reach its destination:

At the shortest distance - in 39 days.
At the midpoint of remoteness - in 162 days.
At the greatest distance - 289 days.

All distance calculations above are approximate, as they were carried out in a straight line. In fact, the ship will cover a greater distance, since the planets do not stand in one place, their movement is due to rotation around the Sun.
To send rockets to Mars, scientists need to calculate the movement of interplanetary stations and the location of the planet at the moment the satellite approaches.

If you want to determine the most convenient date for your next flight to Mars, use a 3D model of the Solar System.

Below is a short list of interplanetary stations and travel times to the red planet

Mariner 4 is the first spacecraft to explore Mars from its flyby trajectory in 1964. The journey was 228 days;
“Mariner-6” and “Mariner-7” -1969, the first arrived in 155 days, the second in 128 days.
“Mariner - 9” artificial satellite of Mars in 1971. the first to map Mars - arrived in 168 days.
“Viking-1” in 1976 - in 304 days it flew, landed, took pictures, studied the atmosphere and soil, and transmitted information to Earth;
“Viking 2” -1975 - search for life, the journey took 333 days.
“Mars Global Surveyor” - 1996 - artificial satellite of Mars - 308 days.
“Mars Pathfinder” - 1997 - first Mars rover - 212 days.
“Mars Express” (satellite, operating in orbit around Mars since December 25, 2003) - 201 days.
“Martian Reconnaissance” - reconnaissance satellite (2006) - 210 days.
"Maven" tenth satellite (09/22/2014) - explores the atmosphere - was on its way to Mars for 307 days.

If you want to fly to Mars and how long to fly to Mars, you already know, but perhaps something else is unknown, so it would not be a bad idea to familiarize yourself with some more facts:
The Mars One project plans to send earthlings to Mars with subsequent colonization of its surface. Whether this flight will be a one-way ticket, we will try to figure it out.

In 2013, out of 202 thousand applicants, the Mars One company selected 1058 potential astronauts in the first round, of which 705 remained in the second round, and 660 people in the third. As a result, by the end of the qualifying race there will be 6 groups of 4 people. By 2025, the first group of astronauts will land on Mars, subsequent groups will be sent into the Launch Window, which opens every 2 years, in the Homan-Vetchinkin orbit.

About the Mars One project in the video:

So, let's look at what you need to know if you want to move to Mars.

How long does it take to fly to Mars? How fast and rainbow will the flight be?

The Mars One Corporation claims that it knows how long it takes to fly to Mars and this period for those whom the lights choose will be 7-8 months. All this time, the astronauts will be practically without amenities and in a cramped, confined space. But, if you are not annoyed by the constant hum of fans, computers and life systems, and you think that washing is a useless exercise, then you can enjoy the oppressive blackness on the other side of the porthole to your heart’s content. In addition to this idyll, if you are caught by a solar storm, you will have to hide in a space much smaller than 20 square meters. meters (living area).

Will the psyche cope?

Roscosmos, together with the Russian Academy of Sciences, carried out the Mars-500 project from 2007 to 2011, in which a team of volunteers was in isolation for 520 days. Despite the fact that the participants in the experiment could leave the project at any time, some still experienced a nervous breakdown. What will happen in real conditions?

Will your body survive?

Astronauts currently stay on the ISS for no longer than 6 months, since muscles and bones atrophy and lose mass under the influence of microgravity. What will happen to the astronauts flying to Mars, since the flight lasts more than 200 days?

How do you like a day and a year on the Red Planet?

If you don’t have time to do everything you planned on Earth, then on Mars you will have the opportunity. A day on Mars lasts 40 minutes longer, and a year is 687 days, which, of course, many will see as an advantage, since in comparison with Earth, youth will last twice as long.

Will you return home?

Let's remember the expedition to the Moon, the Apollo astronauts said that as they moved away from the earth they experienced increasing excitement and anxiety. This state can be described with the phrase: “It’s like all the joy has been sucked out.”

Dreams of gravity

Yes, gravity is an exciting thing, I can imagine how the donuts dream of fluttering like fluff, driven by the wind. On Mars this is almost real, since gravity is two-thirds less than Earth's. There is only one “but”: while you get used to the Martian gravity, muscle and bone tissue will atrophy, and returning to your native Earth will become physical agony.

If you want children, stay on Earth

The Mars One organization strongly recommends not having children on Mars for now. Firstly, nurseries and kindergartens have not yet been built, and secondly, pediatricians have not been brought in. But seriously, while scientists do not know whether an attempt to conceive a child in Martian conditions will be possible, and if it is possible, then how successful it will be remains a mystery. Conception, pregnancy and childbirth are not the most harmless activities on Earth, let alone on Mars.

Sports fanatic? Mars is for you!

In space conditions, taking time off from sports is practically a death sentence for your body. The entire human body works differently than on Earth. Muscle and bone mass atrophies very quickly; you need to constantly keep yourself in shape. 60 minutes in the gym on the ground will seem like children's classics. Future Martians will have to work on their bodies for at least 2 hours (tested by ISS astronauts)

Fly to Mars - don't you dare get sick!

Don’t be alarmed, of course, they will give you a first aid kit with you, perhaps even better than on a hike. It will definitely contain a bandage, antiseptic, antibiotic and much more, but what will happen to you if your teammates don’t figure out what’s throwing you all over the spacecraft?

I am glad that before departure all equipment is disinfected so that you do not populate space with earthly viruses and bacteria. And you heard well when the doctors said that if you pick up an infection on Mars, they won’t let you go home, since there is no point in bringing an unstudied, alien disease into the house, we have enough studied earthly ones.

Gourmets, think about it

I wonder how much pizzerias and sushi bars will charge to deliver pizza to Mars? What about paella from your favorite restaurant or fabado? Very simple - forget it. You will take vegetable seeds with you and eat what you can grow on Mars.

Fresh air is good for your health

This is also not about Mars. 96% of the atmosphere on Mars is CO2 (carbon dioxide) with tiny traces of oxygen. And storms that last for hours with probably toxic sand cannot be called healthy at all. There’s no way you can’t take a walk on a quiet Martian evening before going to bed without a rather boring spacesuit.

How do you like life without the Internet?

SMS messages from Mars will arrive with a delay of 6 minutes, there’s nothing to talk about phones, the delay will take almost half an hour, who can handle such a conversation? The story with the Internet is just as sad. The sites will only be those that you have time to ask to download before the flight, but you won’t be able to surf the web.

Radiation

Another unpleasant surprise prepared by the Red Planet. Due to the absence of a magnetic field, every time you go to the surface, you will be exposed to enormous amounts of radioactive radiation.
In general, the outlook is not rosy. Even if you miraculously don’t get sick on Mars or are cured in an amazing way, you will still be lonely, far from your loved ones.

But such is the fate of all pioneers and their name will be written in the history of planet Earth and no matter how long it takes to fly to Mars, they will be remembered for centuries and legends will be made. Whether it is worth it or not is up to everyone who wants and is able to fly, although the selected 660 volunteers seem to have already made their choice.

In this interesting article, you will finally find out how long it takes to fly to Mars from Earth - years, months or days? How many flight routes are there and what are their distances, how much fuel is needed for the rocket and other interesting details about the flight time to Mars.

How long does it take to fly to Mars?

According to calculations by specialists working on the Mars One mission, the flight time will be about 210 days or 7-8 months.

Although no human has yet set foot on the Red Planet, many unmanned spacecraft and “Mars rovers” have already visited here. How long did it take them to fly from Earth to Mars?

To better understand the distance and time it takes to fly to Mars from Earth, you need to know something about previous missions to this planet:

Mariner-4. Mariner 4 was the first to approach the Red Planet in 1964 ( Mariner-4, from English. — Sailor) is an automatic interplanetary station under NASA's program. The one way path was 228 days. The device took pictures of Mars from a distance of 16,800 km to 12,000 km to its surface - scientists watched with bated breath. After all, it was initially assumed that there could be liquid water on Mars, which means plants and other types of life. 21 images were transmitted by Mariner-4, and it finally became clear that the “Red Planet” is more reminiscent of the Moon than the Earth. The only living organisms here can be mosses and lichens.
Mariner-6 (Mariner-6) hit the road in February 1969. For the flight he needed 155 days. The distance to the surface of the planet this time was only 3429 km. In addition to filming, this device was assigned an important task - to study the composition of the atmosphere and determine the surface temperature of Mars based on infrared radiation indicators.
Mariner-7(Mariner-7) was a backup for Mariner-6, its journey to Mars lasted 128 days. He also studied the atmosphere and temperature of the planet.
In 1971 he went to Mars Mariner-9 (Mariner-9). He reached the given point in 168 days. And it became the first satellite of the “Red Planet”. Using this apparatus, a map of Mars was compiled. He worked until October 1972. until he ran out of compressed gas supplies.
Viking-1 (Viking-1). The first apparatus intended for landing on the Red Planet was launched on June 19, 1976, and reached 304 days.
Viking-2 (Viking-2) launched on August 7, 1976 and traveled to Mars 333 days. It also consisted of an orbital station and a probe. The main task facing the devices of this space program was the following: the search for life. Also, about 16 thousand photographs of Mars were taken then. In the first color photographs, Mars confirmed its second name. The planet was a red desert, and even the sky seemed pink due to the dust that the wind raised.
In 1996, he began studying the planet Mars Global Surveyor(Mars Global Surveyor), which reached Mars in 308 days. This was also a NASA project, and a very successful one. The device entered the circular polar orbit of Mars in 1999 and was engaged in mapping the surface of the planet. Worked until 2001.
Mars Pathfinder (Mars Pathfinder), a US spacecraft launched on December 4, 1996, landed on the planet on July 4, 1997. It studied Martian rocks, surface temperature, wind and took pictures.
Mars Express(Mars Express) - a station of the European Space Agency - set off on December 25, 2003 and reached its goal in 201 days.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter(Mars Reconnaissance Mission) flew to Mars in August 2005, and entered its orbit in March 2006. The road took 210 days. One of the goals of the Scout was to find a place where people could land.
Maven(Maven) - American interplanetary probe - was launched in November 2013 and flew to Mars 307 days. Its main task was to study the atmosphere of the Red Planet.

Watch a very fascinating video about attempts to fly to Mars and modern problems:

As can be seen from the above data, travel time depends on the relative positions of celestial bodies.

The technical level of spacecraft has little effect on the speed of their movement, since no technological leap has occurred in the production of engines.

Unsuccessful flights

In addition to these fairly successful projects, there were many others that ended unsuccessfully. For example, technical problems regularly plagued “ Mars", built in the USSR. Either the launch vehicle crashed, or the booster stage did not fire, or communication with the vehicle was lost. A " Zond-2", sent by the Soviet Union to Mars in 1964, did not reach the planet's area at all.

However, failures in this field plagued not only the USSR. In 1971, at " Marinera-8"(Mariner-8) The United States had a launch vehicle accident; in 1998, the Japanese failed to launch their vehicle into Mars orbit; in 2011, China had an unsuccessful launch attempt.

All this spoke about how difficult it is to plan and execute such a flight. And the responsibility multiplies hundreds of times when there are people on board.

How long does it take to fly to Mars from Earth?

Of course, you want to immediately know the simple answer, and it is (below), but to understand how long it takes to fly to Mars from Earth, you need to understand that there are different routes.

Celestial bodies are in constant motion, the distances between them can change.

The greatest distance that Earth and Mars can “scatter” is 401 million km.
On average, the Earth is located at 225 million km from Mars.
The shortest distance to Mars is 54.6 million km.

Flight routes to Mars

The orbits of the planets are circles, so you can " cutting down» path and fly along a straight path. However, when flying on a rocket, you need to take into account solar gravity. To save fuel, spacecraft will also move at the greatest possible distance from the star.

Video: How and how long to fly to Mars and in what way

The shortest distance to Mars is 54.6 million km. This is possible if the Earth is at a point aphelion(this is the name of the place of maximum distance from the Sun). And at the same time, the Red Planet will be as close as possible to the star - this is the point perihelion. So far, such a relative position of these celestial bodies has not yet been recorded.

In 2003, the Hubble telescope took a picture of Mars, the distance was only 55 million km.

To find out how long it takes to fly to Mars, you need to take into account a number of factors:

speed of planetary movement;
aircraft flight speed;
distance from the Sun;
the need for course correction ( for example, to avoid collisions with other celestial bodies);

The flight path is calculated so that the spacecraft is not directed directly towards the planet, but towards a point that it will reach after a certain period of time. It should be taken into account that it will be necessary to overcome the gravity of the Sun.

If you were offered to participate in the space program for the colonization of Mars, would you agree to go there with an expedition?

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How long does light take to get to Mars?

How long does light take to get to Mars? Let's do the math. The speed of light is 299 thousand km/sec. That is, at the moment when the distance between Mars and our planet is smallest, light will only need about:

3 minutes to overcome the path from one planet to another,
13 minutes– if the distance is average,
22 minutes– if maximum.

The fastest rocket in the history of space flight - Saturn V, which accelerated to 64,000 km/h. Usually the devices reach a speed of about 20,000 km/h.

The fastest space automatic station to date " New Horizons", launched in 2006, has a speed 16.26 km/sec. She went to Pluto. If its goal was Mars, CAS would reach the “Red Planet” in:

39 days– at a minimum distance;
162 days– at an average distance of Mars and Earth from each other;
289 days– at maximum.

That is, at best, the journey would last a little longer than a month.

Traveling at the speed of light is impossible under any circumstances. The speed of movement of any object is measured relative to some system. The special theory of relativity indicates that moving an object faster than light will appear as an effect occurring before the cause. Such a paradox has never been observed.

Project Mars One

“Our traces will remain on the dusty paths of distant planets” - this song was once a real anthem of the USSR cosmonauts.

And perhaps similar imprints will appear on the paths of Mars in the near future. A project has already been developed according to which earthlings will go to the “Red Planet”. Mars One is privately funded and led by Bas Lansdorp.

The project plan involves several stages:

Crew selection and training. 24 volunteers will undergo psychological and technical training that will allow them to survive the flight to Mars. Passing at the moment.
Launching artificial solar satellites to organize communications, sending necessary cargo to the Red Planet (living modules, life support systems, storage and cargo units, Mars rover). The implementation period is until 2024.
The rover begins to prepare the base, launch power supply and life support systems. This stage will end in 2025.
The transit module, the MarsLander spacecraft, engine stages and other parts are being launched into Earth orbit. The device is assembled in space. MarsLander occupies a crew of 4 people who directly conduct the flight to Mars. This will happen in 2026.
In 2027, the first crew should land on the Red Planet, occupy a base and begin colonizing the planet.

In 2013, the selection of applicants began. About 202 thousand people wished to become such. An amazing fact, considering that it is known in advance that this is a one-way ticket: the road will be difficult, and life on Mars will also be full of hardships. However, thousands of people are ready to become pioneers. First, 1,058 people were selected, including 297 US citizens and 52 Russians. After the second round, there were 705 people left in the team, and after the third – 660 people.

How long does it take for people to fly to Mars, according to Mars One calculations? Scientists estimate that the flight from Earth to Mars will take 7-8 months.

Regardless of how long it takes to fly to Mars from Earth, returning along the same route is impossible. To date, there is no economically feasible solution to deliver resources to the Red Planet for the construction of a launch pad and the required amount of fuel. The mission's sponsors do not have the money for this, even in theory.

Famous businessman Elon Musk, who is the head of the SpaceX corporation, presented a program for the colonization of Mars in 2016. To implement it, it is necessary to seriously reduce the cost of flights, build a new heavy rocket, create a spacecraft to transport 200 people and other innovations. All this requires serious capital and the labor of hundreds of educated people.

SpaceX had only 50 people working on the entire project in 2016.

Elon Musk himself emphasizes that colonization cannot occur without terraforming the planet. Living conditions on Mars should be similar to those on Earth. This process will take several hundred years. And technologies have not yet been invented with the help of which it is possible to change the force of gravity of the planet, the gas composition of the atmosphere, etc.

Skeptics view this project with distrust, to put it mildly. There is not much time left until 2025, huge financial investments are required, the bill runs into billions. And so far no one is ready to provide such an amount. One may recall the infamous project “ Constellation" It was commissioned to be developed by NASA back in 2004 by the US President. George Bush. According to the project, the ship would deliver earthlings to the Moon in 2010, the first lunar base would appear in 2024, and from there an expedition to Mars would launch in 2037.

But the state of the United States budget was not even determined by the freeze, and a complete rejection of this program.

In addition, with the modern development of science, the risk for the crew of such a ship remains excessively high.

How much fuel is needed to fly to Mars?

But let’s say the flight did take place. It is already clear that volunteer astronauts on the “Red Planet” will not meet canals, palaces and golden-eyed Martians, as in the stories of Ray Bradery.

So how much fuel will a spacecraft need during its fairly long flight?

An interesting project for solving this issue Roberta Zubina. He sees a nuclear reactor as the main source of energy for a future spaceship. In this case, the ship will carry 6 tons of hydrogen from Earth. In the future, carbon dioxide will be used, which is part of the Martian atmosphere. Using the reactor, these components will be converted into methane and water. Water, with the help of electricity, will be decomposed into oxygen and hydrogen, and the hydrogen will be used to produce methane. The resulting fuel - it is expected that its quantity will exceed 100 tons - will ensure the return of astronauts to Earth. All this will make the flight relatively short-term – about 18 months.

The issue of fuel economy is very important.

Because it is impossible to launch a spacecraft along the shortest straight line: from Earth to Mars. The planets are constantly moving in their orbits, and if such a ship flew up to a given point, Mars would no longer be there. That is, the flight path must be built “ahead” of the planet, which is the final goal of the path. In addition, in order to return, the ship must carry a huge amount of fuel.

How long does it take for a person to fly to Mars and back?

This task faces the flight organizers. The faster the ship moves, the less fuel will be needed, the load on the crew will be reduced - people will receive less radiation. And, of course, less oxygen, water and food will be required for astronauts.

For the flight to take place, the speed of the spacecraft must be at least 18 km/sec.

At the same time, the return flight will take approximately 9 months, And 17 months the ship will be in orbit around Mars. After all, you need to fly back on time " confrontation"when Mars and Earth come closer. The waiting period may take up to 500 days.

Therefore, scientists give this figure: a round trip flight will take at least 33 months.

Considering that people now work at orbital stations for about six months - and this comes at great cost to their health - humanity must take a serious step forward in order to begin the exploration of Mars.

To reduce travel time, the ideas of nuclear reactors (7 months of flight), magneto-plasma rockets (5 months), as well as rockets using antimatter - the most dense fuel ( only 45 days).

Mars is very similar in characteristics to Earth. Today there is a real opportunity to fly to this planet. A colonization project is already underway. If humanity begins to explore other worlds, then Mars will be the first of them.

So the time is approaching when humans will actually go to Mars.

Whether this will be a “one way road”, which will significantly save money on the flight, or whether the astronauts will return to their home planet – time will tell.

In general, the minimum expedition time at the current level of scientific development will be 7-8 months.

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The Mars One project intends to send the first people to Mars with the goal of establishing the first colony there.

However, this flight will be one way, and no one will return.

More 200,000 people applied for a flight to Mars, and the first 1058 people were selected to advance to the next stage. A group of the first 4 selected people will land on the Red Planet already in 2025, but every two years they will be joined by the next group of marsonauts.

Here are a few facts that anyone who wants to leave planet Earth forever and go to Mars needs to know.

How long does it take to get to Mars?

1. It will be a very long and not fun flight.

Mars One has stated that the flight will take 7 to 8 months (minimum 210 days), depending on the relative positions of Earth and Mars.

The astronauts will spend all this time in a very cramped space (about 20 square meters each), deprived of many amenities. They will not be able to wash themselves, will eat canned food and will hear constant noise from fans, computers and life support systems. In the event of a solar storm, they will have to shelter in an even narrower space for protection.

2. It will be a mental test.

When Russia conducted the Mars 500 project, where six volunteers were confined in a confined space for 520 days, it turned out that four of them had sleep problems or developed depression during the mission.

One crew member developed chronic sleep deprivation, which affected his concentration and attention.

Flight to Mars

3. Humans have never been in space for so long

Currently, astronauts spend no more than six months on the International Space Station. This is due to the way microgravity affects the human body, including the loss of bone and muscle tissue. It is worth remembering that the flight to Mars will take at least 200 days, which is more than six months.

Time on Mars and year on Mars

4. It will be difficult to get used to Martian time

A day on Mars is 40 minutes longer than on Earth. While this may not seem like a big difference, for us who are used to living on a 24-hour cycle, it will be quite noticeable.

At the same time, a year on Mars lasts 687 days, which means that those who will live on the Red Planet will be almost twice as young as earthlings.

One way flight to Mars

5. You will never see Earth again

When the Apollo astronauts went to the Moon, they said they felt confused and frustrated as they moved further away from Earth. However, compared to Mars, the Moon is not that far away.

Gravity on Mars

6. Once you get used to gravity on Mars, you won't be able to return to Earth.

Gravity on Mars is one third of that on Earth. So if you weighed 100 kg, then on Mars you would weigh 38 kg. Human bones and muscles atrophy, and after some time it will be difficult for a person to get used to earthly conditions.

The same situation is faced by astronauts returning to Earth.

People on Mars

7. The first settlers on Mars will not be able to have children.

Mission organizers Mars One advise early settlers not to attempt to conceive children. Firstly, the colonies on Mars will not be suitable for children at first. Secondly, little is yet known about the ability of people to conceive in conditions of reduced gravity and whether the fetus can develop normally in such conditions.

8. You will need to constantly keep yourself in shape.

If you don't like exercise, then going to Mars is not for you. Bones, muscles, heart and lungs work differently in space. Astronauts on the ISS exercise two hours a day to maintain normal condition.

Living conditions on Mars

9. If you get sick, you will be 362 million km from Earth

Although astronauts will have the necessary tools to treat common injuries and illnesses, certain diseases will be difficult or nearly impossible to treat.

10. You can always become infected with something unknown on Mars

Before each mission to Mars, scientists make every effort to disinfect rovers to prevent bacteria from Earth from getting to Mars.

However, if astronauts on Mars become infected, earthlings are unlikely to accept them back (if it were possible), as this could lead to the spread of an unknown extraterrestrial epidemic.

11. You won't try your favorite foods again.

The organizers plan that colonizers will grow vegetables on Mars. Since the amount of food brought from Earth will be limited, they will mainly eat what they grow, such as spinach, lettuce and soybeans.

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and Earth is the third. That is, there are no other planets between their orbits. The distance to Mars from the Earth is greater than from it to Venus, but on a cosmic scale it is not too great. This figure may change at different times. After all, the orbits of the planets in the solar system are not round, but elongated. So, for example, in 2003, the distance from Earth to Mars was 55 million km. It was at this time that Hubble took pictures of this planet.

The minimum distance from Earth to Mars will be when the latter is at the perigilion orbital point, and the former at the aphelion point. At this time, the distance between the planets, according to scientists’ calculations, will be 54.6 million km.

At the same time, when the planets are on opposite sides from the Sun, the maximum distance between them is 401 million km. The average distance between these planets is 225 million km.

How long does it take to fly from Earth to Mars: theory

It is not difficult to calculate the flight time from Earth to the red planet using simple formulas. The fastest space station in our time is capable of moving at a speed of 16.26 km/sec. Of course, this is quite a lot.

If the ship going to Mars has the same speed, then at the smallest distance from the Earth of the latter, it will reach the goal in about 39 days. When the red planet is at medium distance, this period will be about 162 days. At the maximum distance, the answer to the question of whether it will be 289 days to Mars.

Flight time: practice

Of course, all the above figures are approximate. Calculations in this case are performed in a straight line. But in fact the ship will have to cover a greater distance. After all, the planets do not stand still. They move around the Sun. Consequently, the question of how long it takes to fly to Mars will have large numbers.

Specific examples

Since people have already launched stations to Mars, the travel time to this planet is currently known more or less accurately. The very first spacecraft, called Mariner 4, covered the distance between Earth and Mars in 228 days in 1964. "Mars-" flew to the red planet in 2003 in 201 days. Maven, the artificial satellite of Mars, reached its goal on day 307.

Mars One program

A flight to Mars under this volunteer program will be a one-way ticket. The first colonists of the red planet will not be able to return to earth. Nevertheless, about 20 thousand people applied to participate in the program. Of these, 1058 were subsequently selected. It is assumed that the first group of volunteers will land on Mars in 2025. Subsequently, new settlers will join them every two years. Astronauts will not be able to return to Earth, partly because some of their muscles quickly atrophy on the red planet. After all, gravity on Mars is much less than on Earth. A person weighing 100 kg on our planet will weigh only 38 kg on the red planet.

Even though the fastest station can reach the surface of the planet in just 1.5 months, a flight with people will take much longer. The colonists will have to stay on the road for at least 7 months. Scientists involved in the development of Mars One suggest that the answer to the question of how long it will take volunteers to fly to Mars will be at least 210 days.

Information about our immediate cosmic environment is becoming publicly available: ordinary users can, without leaving home, calculate the distances to neighboring planets and the travel time to them. If you are interested in the question of the distance of Mars from the Sun, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the basics of measuring cosmic distances.

How is the distance to stars measured and what is a light year?

Units of distances in space are special, derived from the international system of measurement in a separate column.
A.e. is a measure of distance in astronomy, showing the distance of the average location of the third planet - the Earth - from the Sun.

A.e.– a unit of measurement of distances in astronomy, equal to 149,597,870 km

You can also call this unit the radius of the orbit of our planet.

AE is the distance between the centers of the Earth and its orbit

In astronomical units, you can measure distances between objects within the same star system, like the Solar one. For the scale of the Universe, a.u. - a very small unit. Therefore, the distance between stars and galaxies is expressed in light years.

In physics, light has long been the standard for the fastest phenomenon in the world, but on a cosmic, incomprehensible scale, even light does not move instantly. On the way from one corner of the Universe to another, light slows down, scatters, changes its spectrum, and encounters material obstacles.

Light year- this is the stellar distance that light manages to travel 9,460,730,472,580,800 km in one earthly year

The distance of one light year is equal to the speed of light multiplied by one Earth year. The Julian year must be converted to seconds before multiplying, since the speed of light is also expressed in seconds.

Julian year(a) - a unit of time in astronomy equal to 365.25 Julian days

Relying on astronomical units can perform more complex calculations.

Light speed

What is meant by visible light rays is a stream of non-atomic particle photons, the name of which comes from the Greek term "photos" - "light".
For an earthling, one light year is an insurmountably long distance. The average person, under the conditions of Earth's gravity, can reach a speed of about 20 km/h on his own. Photons travel 60 million times faster and travel 300 thousand kilometers every second. This is the maximum speed achieved by visible light in a vacuum.

Speed of light in vacuum equals 299,792,458 m/s

In the resistance of the air or water environment, for example, in the atmosphere or oceans of the Earth, respectively, light loses speed by no more than 25% and travels 225 thousand km per second.
From these data follow all other calculations that allow us to assess the possibility of flights throughout the solar system and between stars. In one minute, light travels 18 million kilometers of space.
The closer a person gets to technological progress reaching the speed of light, the less time will need to be spent on space travel.

How many light years to Mars

We have long known how to overcome enormous distances from practical examples.

How long it takes for earthling astronauts to fly to the red planet is an equation with a variable value, because our planet and Mars are constantly in motion. Each planet is in its own orbit around the Sun. The planets can approach each other or be on opposite sides of the star at extreme distances.
Of course, the most economical solution for earthlings would be to fly to Mars when the planets are at a minimum distance.

The distance that light travels in one year is 9460.73 billion kilometers. The minimum possible distance between Earth and Mars is 54.55 million km.

0.0000057 light years from Earth to Mars

Having such data, we can conclude that the minimum distance between two planets is equal to 181 light seconds, or 3 light minutes. In other words, there are 0.00000570776255707763 light years between Mars and Earth.

How long does it take light to get to Mars?

Despite its physical inaccessibility, it is possible to accurately calculate how long on average it takes starlight to travel from the Sun to Mars.
A flight to Mars from the central star of the solar system can be accomplished by a photon - a light particle - without taking into account obstacles and interference in 12.01 minutes. Calculations are obtained from the constant speed of light in a vacuum - 300 thousand kilometers per second - and the average distance of the red planet from the star, equal to 228 million km.
228,000 thousand km / 300 thousand km/s = 760 s = 12 minutes 1 second - the time required to fly from the Sun to Mars or back at the speed of light. The distance when Mars is at aphelion the light will travel in 13.01 minutes, at perihelion in 11 minutes.

How long does it take to fly to Mars at the speed of light?

The time for a hypothetical flight to Mars is easy to calculate based on the above knowledge. There is a precisely calculated flight path, capabilities and minimum distance from Earth to Mars. It is over 54 million km, which is 3 minutes for the luminous flux. Only if you move at the speed of light, flying to Mars will take not just countless months, but almost moments. Three minutes between Mars and Earth at the speed of light is difficult to compare with any terrestrial transport.

The Red Planet will be within reach if humanity advances to travel at the speed of light. With the current pace of scientific development, the discovery of new futuristic modes of transport is only a matter of time.

How long is it to fly to Mars? How long does it take to fly to Mars from Earth - time and routes Speed ​​of light from earth to Mars