This is what you need to know about the distance to Mars, and why we have not yet reached the red planet. Despite the continued efforts of Nasa , sending humans to the red planet has felt like a far-off goal - until recently. According to the space agency, we can now expect humans to land on Mars within the next two decades. Reaching the planet will be a feat on its own, as Mars is between million miles away from Earth, depending on the planetary rotation around the sun. On average, the distance between Earth and Mars is million miles, according to Nasa.
Unmanned spacecraft travelling to Mars have taken anywhere from days to days to reach the red planet. But how would we have to adapt if we were seriously considering going to live on Mars? The length of an Earth year is on average This is highlighted by the Earth-Sun distance being shorter in the winter season in the northern hemisphere and longer during the summer. Temperatures are generally higher in the summer, even though we're actually further from the Sun. Since Mars is further from the Sun compared to the Earth, a Martian year is longer: days.
Its 25 degree axial tilt means that Mars also experiences seasons. The average temperature on Mars is degrees Centigrade. Seasonal changes take the Martian temperature from 20 degrees C at the equator during summer down to degrees C at the poles in winter. With the atmosphere of Mars being times thinner than on the Earth, daily temperature fluctuations are also quite extreme. Images and data from the Phoenix lander revealed water condensing in the atmosphere during the start of the Martian winter in the northern regions.
Using pulsing laser, scientist detected its reflections off ice crystals and clouds just a few miles above the surface. This snow along with the detection of calcium carbonate and clays in the soil was strong evidence for scientists to suggest that the Phoenix landing site Green Valley in the northern region may have had a warmer and wetter climate in the past since such minerals are only formed in the presence of liquid water on Earth. Scientist had known for decades that frozen carbon dioxide existed at the southern polar ice cap of Mars.
But just a few years after the Phoenix lander discoveries, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter revealed carbon dioxide snowfall at the southern polar region in — the first ever observation of this phenomenon in the Solar System.
More recently, surveys of the soil and the atmosphere have revealed a few more hidden mysteries. The Mars One mission is scheduled to occur in To establish the first human settlement on the Red Planet, and to regularly send a new crew to join the first one, from two to two years.
It is currently unknown how the current COVID crisis may impact the schedule of this mission, but people are more and more interested in colonizing the Red Planet nonetheless. Apart from this, Mars is really a cold place with average surface temperatures reaching 21 degrees Celsius; however, in the night, temperatures drop to 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. How long does it take to get to Mars? Home » Space Questions » How long does it take to get to Mars? If you want to calculate how long it takes to get to stars, planets, and galaxies, try our space travel calculator So how long does it take to get to Mars from Earth?
Of course, the problem with the previous calculations is that they measure distance between the two planets as a straight line. Traveling through the farthest passing of Earth and Mars would involve a trip directly through the sun, while spacecraft must of necessity move in orbit around the solar system's star. Although this isn't a problem for the closest approach, when the planets are on the same side of the sun, another problem exists.
The numbers also assume that the two planets remain at a constant distance; that is, when a probe is launched from Earth while the two planets are at the closest approach, Mars would remain the same distance away over the course of the 39 days it took the probe to travel. In reality, however, the planets are continuously moving in their orbits around the sun. Engineers must calculate the ideal orbits for sending a spacecraft from Earth to Mars.
Their numbers factor in not only distance but also fuel efficiency. Like throwing a dart at a moving target, they must calculate where the planet will be when the spacecraft arrives, not where it is when it leaves Earth.
Spaceships must also decelerate to enter orbit around a new planet to avoid overshooting it. How long it takes to reach Mars depends on where in their orbits the two planets lie when a mission is launched. It also depends on the technological developments of propulsion systems. The website quotes physics professor Craig C. Patten , of the University of California, San Diego:.
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