By rocket to Mars: about 150 days
By rocket (61,000 km/h) it would take about 150 days to get to Mars – at the average distance of 225,000,000 km, non-stop and in a straight line.
Because the distance keeps changing, the travel time ranges from 37 days (closest) to 270 days (farthest).
For comparison
About five months. Real Mars probes take 6 to 9 months because they fly a curved path around the Sun instead of a straight line.
How it is calculated
- Closest distance
- 54,600,000 km
- Average distance
- 225,000,000 km
- Farthest distance
- 401,000,000 km
- Speed
- 61,000 km/h (speed of the Voyager 1 probe)
- Formula
- Travel time = distance ÷ speed
- Result
- 225,000,000 km ÷ 61,000 km/h ≈ 150 days
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: Mars
Earth and Mars orbit the Sun at different speeds. About every 26 months Earth overtakes Mars and the two are closest (opposition). When they are on opposite sides of the Sun, they are more than 400 million km apart – which is why Mars missions can only launch in these windows.
→ Fact sheet: MarsMars: travel time by every vehicle
| Vehicle | Speed | Travel time | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car | 100 km/h | 260 years | 62 years – 460 years |
| Airplane | 900 km/h | 29 years | 6.9 years – 51 years |
| Rocket | 61,000 km/h | 150 days | 37 days – 270 days |
| Speed of light | 1,079,252,849 km/h | 12.5 minutes | 3 minutes – 22 minutes |