L’Mars exploration faces a major obstacle: time. A standard round trip is almost three yearsmainly because of the 7 to 10 months of travel time and the need to wait 26 months for Earth and Mars to align again for the return trip. Published in Acta Astronautica, a study opens up new perspectives.
A calculation error revealed a shortcut
The idea was born out of surprise. In 2015, while studying near-Earth asteroids, Brazilian researcher Marcelo de Oliveira Souza noticed the asteroid 2001 CA21. Early estimates, although later refined and corrected, suggested a rare trajectory crossing both Earth and Mars orbit.
The cosmologist had the intuition that this orbital geometry, even from imprecise data, contained valuable clues for designing faster interplanetary routes.
The characteristics of this express trip
The study proposes a very rapid scenario for the opposition window of 2031, when Earth and Mars are closest. A round trip mission could be completed in just 153 days.
This ambitious plan would include a 33-day outward journey, a 30-day stay on the Martian surface, and a 90-day return. Another profile, less energy intensive, offers a 226 day missionor about 7.5 months, which is still a considerable improvement.
Is this new trajectory feasible?
For now, the concept remains largely theoretical. The fastest trajectory would require departure and arrival speeds far beyond the capabilities of current systems. Departure from Earth would require a speed of around 27 km/s.
However, these speeds are not completely out of reach. The advent of new generation rockets could make these rapid transfers feasible, transforming the discovery into a real option for future manned missions to Mars.
