Why a manned Mars mission takes nearly 3 years.

Mars - Part 2

The journey to Mars.

Everyone is familiar with the images of SpaceX's enormous Starship rocket. It is without a doubt one of the most impressive engineering projects ever built. Elon Musk wants to use it not only to take people to Mars, but also to land the rocket safely, launch it again, and have it travel back to Earth.

That sounds simple, but behind this mission lies an undertaking that takes almost three years.

Starship: a revolutionary rocket

Elon Musk did not opt for a traditional disposable rocket, but for a fully reusable spaceship: Starship .

That is a brilliant choice. The rocket must be reusable after every flight, just like a commercial aircraft. Even more impressive is the precision with which Starship can land. During test flights, the rocket landed almost upright on a small landing platform. That technology is likely indispensable on Mars as well, because only a controlled vertical landing makes a later return possible.

But the rocket is only the beginning of the journey.

Departure from Earth

A trip to Mars cannot begin at just any moment. Earth and Mars orbit the sun at different speeds. Both planets are only favorably aligned with each other approximately every 26 months. Only then is the journey relatively short and requires the least fuel.

After launch, Starship leaves Earth and begins a journey of approximately six to nine months.

Arrival on Mars

After months of travel, Starship must land on a planet with an extremely thin atmosphere. That atmosphere is too thin to slow a spaceship down sufficiently, but thick enough to generate enormous heat during the descent. The landing is therefore one of the most difficult parts of the entire mission.

After landing, the waiting begins.

A year and a half on Mars

Anyone who thinks the astronauts can go home after a few weeks is mistaken.

By the time of their arrival, Earth will have already orbited the Sun further. Mars is also moving on. As a result, both planets are in an unfavorable position for the return journey.

The crew must therefore remain on Mars for approximately 500 days before the planets are favorably aligned again.

Only then can the return journey begin.

The return journey

If Starship can take off again — a massive technical challenge in itself — another journey of approximately six to nine months back to Earth follows.

From departure to landing on Earth, the astronauts were ultimately traveling for approximately two and a half to three years .

That is longer than many people realize.

More than a space journey

A trip to Mars is not a day trip like the moon landings. It is a years-long expedition in which every decision can have consequences months later. Along the way, there is no gas station, no garage, and no rescue service.

The technology behind Starship is impressive. But precisely because the rocket must be able to do so much—take off, land, take off again, and return—it becomes clear just how exceptionally great the challenge truly is.

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