Space race: How close is the US going to Mars?
Brady Knox
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Ever since humans first landed on the moon in 1969, Mars has been the next terrestrial body destined for human visitation.
However, the task is easier said than done. The closest planet to Earth, Mars is still a mind-boggling distance away at 197.73 million miles. The distance is roughly 828 times farther than the moon from Earth. However, the different orbits of the planets mean that the distance fluctuates.
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As it currently stands, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans to put humans on Mars somewhere between the late 2030s and early 2040s.
The agency laid out a rough outline for its first human mission to Mars in 2022, in which it identified “50 points falling under four overarching categories of exploration, including transportation and habitation; Moon and Mars infrastructure; operations; and science.”
However, the agency also asked for public feedback, perhaps denoting the early stage of the plan.
“The feedback we receive on the objectives we have identified will inform our exploration plans at the Moon and Mars for the next 20 years,” Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy said. “We’re looking within NASA and to external stakeholders to help us fine-tune these objectives and be as transparent as possible throughout our process. With this approach, we will find potential gaps in our architecture as well as areas where our goals align with those from industry and international partners for future collaboration.”
NASA estimates that the full round-trip journey will take around 500 days, and involve four crew members.
However, private companies may beat the United States’s space agency to the red planet.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said on Twitter that he expects the company to land humans on Mars within the next decade.
“I must admit to being congenitally optimistic (SpaceX & Tesla wouldn’t exist otherwise), but I think 5 years is possible and 10 years is highly likely,” he tweeted in February.
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1623824862673518592?s=20
The estimate has gone on the billionaire’s Twitter musings, with SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell telling CNBC’s Shepard Smith that she thinks the company will land humans on Mars “in this decade, yes. People on the moon, sooner.”
“I think we need to get a large delivery to the surface of Mars, and then people will start thinking harder about it,” she continued. “And then, I think within five or six years, people will see that that will be a real place to go.”
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SpaceX still has some ways to go before making the prospect a reality, however. The large delivery system Shotwell is referring to is Starship, which broke records when lifting off earlier this year, but wasn’t in the air for long. Aside from destroying much of the launching pad and experiencing engine problems immediately, Starship quickly lost control, and was forced to self-detonate just minutes after taking off.
Other private companies are racing SpaceX to Mars as well; Relativity Space and Impulse Space announced last year they would aim to launch the first private mission to space in 2024, beating SpaceX. The craft will have no human crew, but could help pay the way for the companies to claim the coveted title sooner rather than later.