Every 26 months, Mars and Earth are at their
closest distance,
which is about 57 million kilometers apart.
During this time, if an unmanned NASA spacecraft
were to leave Earth, traveling at 58,000 kilometers
per hour, it would take a little over 40 days
to get to the Red Planet.
Not bad, right?
Well, a quick trip would only be possible
if the spacecraft followed a direct path,
undisturbed by the wrath of the solar system
and weight of life sustaining resources.
Unfortunately, space travel is far more complicated
than a straight line.
So ideally, how long does it take to get to
Mars?
The solar system is constantly shifting, and
the orbital mechanics behind each of the planets
makes space travel really complex.
Because Earth and Mars have elliptical orbits,
the distance between them varies considerably,
and in order to send a spacecraft to Mars,
the planets have to line up just right.
It takes Earth one year to orbit the Sun,
while it takes Mars about 1.9 years.
So, every time Mars completes a single orbit,
Earth goes around the sun almost twice.
Historically, for NASA, the best launch window
to Mars occurs
every 2 years and 2 months or 26 months.
During this time, a spacecraft can utilize
what is considered the most energy efficient
path to Mars known as the Hohmann Transfer orbit.
On this trajectory, the spacecraft follows an elliptical
orbit around the Sun
that intersects the orbit of Mars.
It uses fuel to increase speed and velocity
to break free of Earth's gravity field.
And the spacecraft uses more fuel to decelerate
in order to be captured into the Martian orbit.
Then, it can ride Mars's orbital wave until
it's ready to touch down on the surface.
While the Hohmann transfer is considered the
most efficient trajectory to get to Mars,
the journey is still estimated to take roughly
260 days or eight to nine months with a manned
spacecraft powered by chemical propulsion,
so NASA and private companies are trying to
develop more efficient propulsion systems
that can get humans to Mars faster than the
chemical rockets used in the past.
Specifically, a type of electric propulsion
system that propels a spacecraft by accelerating
a stream of electrically charged atoms, known as ions.
And a nuclear thermal propulsion system that
uses low-enriched uranium as its power source.
But even if we do engineer a faster way to
get to Mars, a round trip is still estimated
to take multiple months.
And that means we also have to solve problems
of human health and resource requirements
during extended deep space missions.
Clearly, time is just one of many obstacles
standing in the way of our Martian dreams.
But still, NASA says it plans to send humans
to Mars in the 2030s.
So do you think it's actually going to happen?
Let us know in the comments below and tell
us what other obstacles you want us to explain.
If you want to see more Space Crafts check out this playlist here.
And be sure to let us know in the comments what astronomical phenomena
you want to learn more about.
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