HUMANS have already reached the Moon – and Mars seems like the obvious next step.
But how will we get there? There are several mega-rockets already being developed that could take us to the red planet in our lifetimes.
Mars is far away – around 140 millions from Earth on average.
That means getting there is not only time-consuming, but very expensive in terms of fuel.
Nasa hopes that one way of bringing the time and cost down is using nuclear propulsion.
“Nasa’s goal is to minimize the time the crew travels between Earth and Mars to as close to two years as is practical,” Nasa said in 2021.
“Space nuclear propulsion systems could enable shorter total mission times and provide enhanced flexibility and efficiency for mission designers.”
In 2023, Nasa revealed that it had teamed up with Darpa (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) on building such a rocket.
And it said that this would allow for speedy trips to Mars and back.
“Nasa will work with our long-term partner, Darpa, to develop and demonstrate advanced nuclear thermal propulsion technology as soon as 2027,” said Nasa boss Bill Nelson.
“With the help of this new technology, astronauts could journey to and from deep space faster than ever – a major capability to prepare for crewed missions to Mars.”
One early concept of a a Nasa rocket looked a bit like a Star Wars X-wing.
And Nasa says that nuclear thermal rockets could be three times more efficient than regular chemical propulsion.
Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk hasn’t exactly been quiet about his dreams of shipping humans to Mars.
It’s no secret that Musk wants to set up a colony on the red planet, turning humans into an interplanetary species.
And his company SpaceX has built a rocket called Starship that aims to do just that.
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“SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket – collectively referred to as Starship – represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond,” SpaceX explains.
The company says that Starship will enter the Martian atmosphere at 7.5km a second.
And its heat shield will allow it to safely land on Mars without being destroyed in the process.
Starship is currently going through testing phases, with its seventh flight-test set to take place in early 2025.
Musk hopes that the Starship spacecraft can be re-filled with fuel while in low-Earth orbit.
That means it can launch into space, and then fuel up once again before a trip to Mars.
Nasa has nuclear dreams – but in the meantime, the space agency needs a more conventional rocket for daring crewed missions.
Enter the SLS, or Space Launch System, which is the main launch vehicle for Nasa’s Artemis programme.
Artemis is a series of missions that will ultimately return humans to the surface of the Moon.
The only SLS launch to take place so far was an uncrewed test in November 2022.
Nasa is due to use the SLS again in April 2026 as part the crewed Artemis II flight.
But the eventual plan is for SLS to carry humans to Mars too.
“The SLS rocket is designed to be evolvable, which makes it possible to increase its capability to fly more types of missions,” Nasa explained.
“Including human missions to the Moon and Mars and robotic scientific missions to the Moon, Mars, and the outer planets.”
Nasa added: “The final SLS configuration, Block 2, will provide 9.4 million lbs. of launch thrust, compared to the Block 1’s8.8 million lbs. and will be the workhorse vehicle for sending cargo to the Moon, Mars, and other deep space destinations.
“SLS Block 2 will be designed to lift up to 46 t (101,000 lbs.) to deep space.”
