A new study suggests that the journey to Mars could become much faster than previously thought, reducing the time of a round-trip mission to just 153 days.
Currently, with existing technology, a one-way trip to the Red Planet takes about nine months, while a full mission could take up to three years.
But researchers from the State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro have identified a new possibility that could significantly shorten this time.
This scenario is based on an astronomical phenomenon called "Martian opposition," which occurs about every 26 months, when Earth and Mars are on the same side of the Sun and at their closest distance from each other.
The researchers analyzed future oppositions, including those in 2027, 2029 and 2031, to see if they could be exploited for more efficient travel.
Asteroid 2001 CA21 plays a key role in this “shortcut,” as its trajectory intersects the orbits of Earth and Mars. According to calculations, during the opposition in 2031, a spacecraft could use this route to reach Mars in about a month.
According to the theoretical plan, the launch would take place on April 20, the arrival on Mars on May 23, the stay would last 30 days, and the return to Earth would end on September 20 – bringing the total duration of the mission to 153 days.
However, the scientists emphasize that this scenario is extreme and requires very high energy, making it more of a theoretical model than an immediate plan for implementation. A more feasible alternative, they say, is a mission of about 226 days, which better balances time and energy requirements.
This development could be of interest to NASA, which aims to send humans to Mars in the early 2030s. Exploring this planet remains one of its main objectives, as it could help understand Earth's history and search for life beyond it. /GazetaExpress/
t7 live
