By rocket to Jupiter: about 1.5 years
By rocket (61,000 km/h) it would take about 1.5 years to get to Jupiter – at the average distance of 778,000,000 km, non-stop and in a straight line.
Because the distance keeps changing, the travel time ranges from 1.1 years (closest) to 1.8 years (farthest).
For comparison
The Juno probe needed almost five years (2011–2016) because it took a detour past Earth to gain speed.
How it is calculated
- Closest distance
- 588,000,000 km
- Average distance
- 778,000,000 km
- Farthest distance
- 968,000,000 km
- Speed
- 61,000 km/h (speed of the Voyager 1 probe)
- Formula
- Travel time = distance ÷ speed
- Result
- 778,000,000 km ÷ 61,000 km/h ≈ 1.5 years
Assumption: constant speed in a straight line, with no stops, acceleration or braking. Real spacecraft fly curved paths and use the gravity of planets.
Good to know: Jupiter
Jupiter is the largest planet – more than 1,300 Earths would fit inside it. It is about 5.2 times as far from the Sun as Earth. As with all outer planets, the distance depends on whether it is on the same side of the Sun as Earth (about 590 million km) or on the opposite side (about 970 million km).
→ Fact sheet: JupiterJupiter: travel time by every vehicle
| Vehicle | Speed | Travel time | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car | 100 km/h | 890 years | 670 years – 1,100 years |
| Airplane | 900 km/h | 99 years | 75 years – 120 years |
| Rocket | 61,000 km/h | 1.5 years | 1.1 years – 1.8 years |
| Speed of light | 1,079,252,849 km/h | 43 minutes | 33 minutes – 54 minutes |