In fact, that process has already started. Exploration of the moon in the Artemis program will look at the equipment that can be used to get to Mars like habitats, life support systems, and 'technologies and practices that could help us build self-sustaining outposts' on another planet. So, there's no answer, but the first steps are being taken. It involves establishing a 'permanent human presence' on the moon and laying 'the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy,' according to NASA. The current Artemis program plan is sprawling. The agency wants to establish 'sustainable exploration by the end of the decade,' using what it learns in the process to make the push toward getting astronauts on Mars.

That's not Mars, but it is the first step in the 'moon to Mars' mission. The Artemis program aims to send the first woman and next man-a phrase frequently used by NASA-to the lunar surface by 2024. Though, as NASA notes, 'exploration of the moon and Mars is intertwined.' Sending humans to Mars, however, is a much larger challenge than putting a rover on the Martian surface. NASA's Artemis program is working on making this happen right now. The short answer is that we don't know, but it's not going to be soon. For reference, on average, Earth is about 93 million miles away from the sun. When the planets are as far away from each other as possible, they could be as many as 250 million miles apart. Though, the closest we've seen the two was 34.8 million miles in August 2003. (Those happen roughly once every two years.)Īs explains, the closest the two planets could theoretically get is 33.9 million miles. That's about the exact same distance it'll be from Earth when the planets have another close approach in 2022. The distance between Mars and Earth will vary greatly depending on where each planet is in its orbit.Īt its closest approach to Earth in 2020, Mars was about 38.6 million miles (62.07 million kilometers) from Earth, per NASA. A year on Mars lasts for about 687 Earth days or 669 sols (Mars days). Both planets are in orbit around the sun and a single year for each planet (one complete orbit around the sun) takes a different amount of time. The answer to this question varies quite a bit.

The Farthest Place by E. Barnes