To Mars in just 30 days: scientists have discovered a short route to the Red Planet 0 15

According to a new study, astronauts will be able to make a round trip to Mars in just 5 months, whereas current technology allows this to be done only in 3 years. Since Earth and Mars align and come close only once every 26 months, astronauts need 7 to 10 months to reach the Red Planet, and then wait about the same amount of time to return home. Hence, the total flight time amounts to three years. But now scientists have discovered a shorter route to Mars, writes Focus.

The authors of the study stated that early, inaccurate data on the flight trajectories of near-Earth asteroids, which were historically used to assess collision risks before being abandoned in favor of more accurate data, contain valuable geometric clues for designing fast interplanetary routes.

Scientists studied the trajectories of near-Earth asteroids, and one of them, 2001 CA21, caught their attention. The fact is that early estimates of its orbit suggested that it followed a rare trajectory crossing the orbital zones of Earth and Mars. Although later measurements clarified the true trajectory of the asteroid, its initial geometry during the close approach of Earth and Mars indicated a significantly shorter path between the two planets.

Calculations showed that a fast flight to Mars in 34 days is possible if the spacecraft follows a trajectory similar to the early estimate of the trajectory of asteroid 2001 CA21.

However, such a trajectory requires a launch speed of 32.5 km/s, which significantly exceeds the capabilities of modern rockets, and the spacecraft would arrive at Mars at a speed of about 108,000 km/h. This is too fast for a safe landing on the Red Planet.

Further calculations showed that the alignment of Mars and Earth in 2031 offers a viable short interplanetary route. During this period, scientists believe, a round trip to Mars could take just 153 days or about 5 months.

The spacecraft should launch from Earth on April 20, 2031, at a speed of about 27 km/s. After 33 days, by May 23, it will arrive at Mars. The astronauts will then spend about 30 days on the planet and depart back to Earth on June 22. According to calculations, the astronauts should return home from Mars in about 90 days, by September 22.

But this concept remains largely theoretical and will heavily depend on the specifics of the mission, including the design of the spacecraft, the mass of the payload, and the capabilities of the engine. All of this will determine how feasible such fast flights to Mars and back are.

Scientists believe that rockets like SpaceX's Starship or Blue Origin's New Glenn could send a spacecraft to Mars at such speed and along such a trajectory.