You’ve hopped into your space car and want to visit your aunt who lives on Neptune. So how long will this journey take?
“The question “how long does it take to reach the planets?” is a subject of pathological curiosity, especially for space exploration and science fiction enthusiasts like myself… While watching Netflix’s popular series “3-Body Problem,” which I’ve only recently found time to watch, I found myself mesmerized by the complexity of the universe and the fundamental questions facing humanity as it confronts the unknown in the depths of space;
I found myself researching the topic with the problematic question of “could this really be possible?!!!” because the James Webb Space Telescope, the most important observatory of the next decade, is the apple of thousands of astronomers’ eyes worldwide and examines every stage in the history of the universe…
According to the information I’ve gathered from sources I’ve reached, not as an expert on the subject but as an enthusiast; travels to the planets in the solar system are quite important in terms of understanding the point technology has reached and future space explorations. So, how long does it take to reach these planets?
Here are the average distances of the planets, travel times with past space probes, and theoretical travel times at the speed of light:
1. Venus
- Average distance: 41 million km
- Space probe: Mariner 2, Venus Express
- Launch date: Mariner 2 (August 27, 1962), Venus Express (November 9, 2005)
- Arrival date: Mariner 2 (December 14, 1962), Venus Express (April 11, 2006)
- Travel time: Mariner 2: 109 days, Venus Express: 5 months
- Theoretical travel time (speed of light): approximately 2 minutes 17 seconds
2. Mercury
- Average distance: 77 million km
- Space probe: Mariner 10, MESSENGER
- Launch date: Mariner 10 (November 3, 1973), MESSENGER (August 3, 2004)
- Arrival date: Mariner 10 (March 29, 1974), MESSENGER (March 18, 2011)
- Travel time: Mariner 10: 147 days, MESSENGER: 6 years 7 months
- Theoretical travel time (speed of light): approximately 4 minutes 17 seconds
3. Moon
- Average distance: 384,400 km
- Space probe: Apollo 11
- Launch date: July 16, 1969
- Arrival date: July 20, 1969
- Travel time: 4 days
- Theoretical travel time (speed of light): approximately 1.28 seconds
4. Mars
- Average distance: 225 million km
- Space probe: Viking 1, Curiosity
- Launch date: Viking 1 (August 20, 1975), Curiosity (November 26, 2011)
- Arrival date: Viking 1 (July 20, 1976), Curiosity (August 6, 2012)
- Travel time: Viking 1: 11 months, Curiosity: 8 months 10 days
- Theoretical travel time (speed of light): approximately 12 minutes 30 seconds
5. Jupiter
- Average distance: 778 million km
- Space probe: Pioneer 10, Juno
- Launch date: Pioneer 10 (March 2, 1972), Juno (August 5, 2011)
- Arrival date: Pioneer 10 (December 3, 1973), Juno (July 4, 2016)
- Travel time: Pioneer 10: 21 months, Juno: 4 years 11 months
- Theoretical travel time (speed of light): approximately 43 minutes 18 seconds
6. Saturn
- Average distance: 1.43 billion km
- Space probe: Pioneer 11, Cassini
- Launch date: Pioneer 11 (April 6, 1973), Cassini (October 15, 1997)
- Arrival date: Pioneer 11 (September 1, 1979), Cassini (July 1, 2004)
- Travel time: Pioneer 11: 6 years, Cassini: 6 years 9 months
- Theoretical travel time (speed of light): approximately 1 hour 19 minutes
7. Uranus
- Average distance: 2.87 billion km
- Space probe: Voyager 2
- Launch date: August 20, 1977
- Arrival date: January 24, 1986
- Travel time: 8 years 5 months
- Theoretical travel time (speed of light): approximately 2 hours 40 minutes
8. Neptune
- Average distance: 4.5 billion km
- Space probe: Voyager 2
- Launch date: August 20, 1977
- Arrival date: August 25, 1989
- Travel time: 12 years
- Theoretical travel time (speed of light): approximately 4 hours 10 minutes
It appears that space exploration, the distances of planets, and the time it takes to reach them have been studied in depth through various missions and calculations.
In summary, interplanetary travel can take quite long with today’s technology. While explorations with space probes can take years, it would theoretically be possible to cover these distances in much shorter times within the framework of the speed of light theory. However, traveling at a speed approaching the speed of light requires technologies that go beyond today’s laws of physics. As space exploration and technology develop, we can predict that these travel times may shorten even further in the future.
While these data reveal the complexity of interplanetary journeys and the perfection of technological developments, they also create in me the excitement of “I’m ready to be an astronaut now!!!”
//sources
https://www.nasa.gov/missions
https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science