There’s a lot of talk these days about colonizing Mars and transforming it into a habitable environment. That, of course, would be insanely cool, but why Mars? How many light years away is Mars?
Wouldn’t it be just as cool to swing by one of the other two terrestrial planets in our solar system?
Well, there are a number of reasons why we’ve collectively decided that Mars is the perfect destination for humankind. One fo the preseason is that The Red Planet is comparatively close to Earth.
Not quite as nearby as our neighbor Venus. The fact that Mars falls on the other side of Earth in the planetary order, means its surface isn’t completely roasted by the sun. Not to mention Venus’ crushing atmosphere.
So, with manned missions to Mars steadily making the transition from science fiction to fact, just how far away is The Red Planet from The Blue Planet?
The Distance From Earth To Mars
We’ve got a surprise for you — Mars isn’t even a single light-year from Earth!
We all just take it as a given that the distance between everything up there in the great expanse is measured in light years. However, this isn’t always necessary, as evidenced by Earth and Mars.
At the closest, Mars is only an average of 140 million miles (225 million km) from planet Earth.
Now, we know what you’re thinking… Only 140 million miles?!! This is still a remarkable distance for humans to travel. However, compared to a light year, it’s basically nothing! In fact, it takes light about 12.5 minutes to travel this distance.
How Far Is A Light Year?
A light year is a unit of measurement equivalent to the distance light can travel in one Earth year. Since light is the fastest thing in the universe, we ain’t exactly talking strolling distance here.
There are 9.46 trillion kilometers in a single light year, which equates to little under 5.9 trillion miles.
How Long Would It Take Humans To Travel One Light Year?
One of the fastest manned spacecraft of all time is Discovery. The shuttle was capable of shooting through space at an incredible five miles per second. However, even Discovery going hell for leather at all times would take roughly 37,200 years to travel a light year.
With a top speed of 24,791 mph (39,897 km/h), Apollo 10 is quite a bit faster than Discovery. It topped out at about 17,500 mph (28,000 km/h), but even at that pace, it would take us a little under 27,168 years to travel a light year.
There are certain unmanned spacecraft that can fly faster still, such as the Parker Solar Probe (364,660 mph). Needless to say, a light year would still be an incredible distance for it to travel, which is why it’s such a good thing that Mars is quite close to us… cosmically speaking.
How Long Would It Take Us To Fly To Mars?
It would still take us a fairly long time to reach Mars with a manned spacecraft.
Thus far, there have been no attempts to put a man on The Red Planet. Still, there have been a grand total of nine successful attempts to land an unmanned spacecraft on our ruddy planetary neighbor. The latest of which is the rover, Perseverance.
Perseverance reached Mars after about seven months of traveling through space at roughly 24,600 mph (39,600 km/h).
Being that this is roundabout the same speed Apollo 10 was capable of, it’s fair to assume that humans would make it to Mars in approximately the same amount of time.
Could A Manned Mission Reach Mars?
NASA is under presidential orders to put man on Mars by 2033. Also, Musk’s SpaceX is on the job too. It seems very likely that a manned mission to Mars could be on the cards.
That said, there are significant technological hurdles to overcome before we give it a shot:
No Way Of Slowing Down Once We Reach Mars
Mars has a very thin atmosphere compared to our own. This means it will be incredibly difficult to slow a spacecraft down quickly enough to land safely on the surface.
Tricky To Land An Ascent Rocket On Mars
If our voyagers wish to return from The Red Planet, they’ll need an ascent rocket. We don’t really understand how we’d get it there safely, considering the thin atmosphere and whatnot.
Fluids
Voyagers would need intravenous fluids to stay hydrated during the excursion. Unfortunately, water is heavy, so carrying it on the outbound mission is not feasible.
Instead, scientists have to figure out a way to source water from the Marian environment. Recently large volumes of water ice have been discovered on the planet so a source is likely.
Loss Of Bone Density
Extended inactivity during any mission to Mars would lead to significant muscle mass and bone density loss in astronauts. According to mathematical predictions, 33% of all voyagers who make the trip would be susceptible to osteoporosis.
Breathable Air
Oxygen is finite on a space mission. It can be made from water through a process known as electrolysis. However, as mentioned earlier, there might not be much water to go around.
Studies are underway to find a viable source of oxygen on Mars.
How to Live on Mars
Life on Mars would not be like living on Earth. There would be significant practical and social hurdles to work through.
To fully understand the problems and determine solutions, simulations are being conducted. This involves isolating people with limited resources. They can only utilize the materials that they are first given. An important aspect of this is that they must produce their own food and recycle water.
Final Thoughts
There you have it — Mars is only a fraction of a light-year from Earth. This means manned missions could be possible in the next 20 years. However, there are some gaps in our technology we must patch up if we’re even to attempt such a feat.
In the fastest manned spacecraft, it would take just under 7 months to reach Mars. However, speed wouldn’t necessarily be the top priority.
Extending the journey to make it safer and easier would be preferable to getting to Mars as quickly as possible. As such a trip of around 13 months is a more realistic.
Hi, my name is Jason Anderson, and I am a Physics Professor. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated with space, the universe, the moon, you name it. I spent hours and hours at the planetarium close to my hometown, wondering what else could be out in the universe.
Since then, I’ve been an avid stargazer and astronomer, and love nothing more than spending my time charting stars, observing planets, and finding constellations.
This is why I decided to start Telescope Guru. I only wish to share this fun pastime with the world. With this site, I hope to answer all of your questions relating to astronomy, telescopes, and stargazing.
