A new study suggests that we might one day make a round trip to Mars in under a year. That’s a big change from the current mission times. Right now, it takes about seven to ten months just to get to Mars. If everything goes according to plan, a round trip could stretch to nearly three years because astronauts need to wait for the right alignment of the planets every 26 months.
The research, published in the journal Acta Astronautica, uses old orbital data from near-Earth asteroids. While these estimates were once discarded, they may contain insights that could help us find faster routes between planets.
“This may change how we think about trip lengths to Mars,” says study author Marcelo de Oliveira Souza, a cosmologist in Brazil.
Interestingly, Souza’s interest in asteroids led him to discover potential shortcuts. Back in 2015, he noticed that one asteroid, 2001 CA21, might connect Earth’s and Mars’ trajectories. Although later data refined its path, the early estimates sparked ideas for “ultra-short” Mars trips.
During a recent alignment in October 2020, Souza found that if a spacecraft could reach speeds of 32.5 kilometers per second, it could theoretically make the journey to Mars in about 34 days. However, that speed is beyond what we can currently achieve, making landing quite tricky.
For upcoming Mars alignments in 2027, 2029, and 2031, Souza analyzed the trajectory of these asteroid paths. He determined that the 2031 alignment could allow a round trip in 153 days—about five months. The spacecraft could leave Earth on April 20, 2031, arrive on Mars by May 23, spend a month there, and return by September 20.
There’s also a slower option in the same window that would last about 226 days—still much shorter than today’s timelines. Of course, these ideas are largely theoretical. Actual missions would depend on spacecraft design and propulsion technology.
The high speeds discussed could be possible with next-generation rockets like SpaceX’s Starship. Current technologies, like NASA’s New Horizons mission, already demonstrate what is achievable; that probe was launched at nearly 16.26 kilometers per second.
This research not only opens up new possibilities for space travel but also serves as a reminder of how much we have yet to explore. As we learn more about our solar system, who knows what other discoveries await us?
