Concept preview. Not indexed. Facts are checked against the sources listed on each page.
How long would it take to get to Mars?
Mars is 33,926,867 miles from Earth at its closest and 249,418,396 miles at its farthest. A car at 65 mph would need 59.5 years for the shorter distance and 438 years for the longer. A passenger jet at 570 mph would need 6.8 years and 49.9 years.
33,926,867 mi
Distance at the closest
3 minutes 2 seconds
Light travel time at the closest
59.5 years
By car at 65 mph
6.8 years
By jet at 570 mph
Travel time by vehicle
| Vehicle | Speed | Closest | Typical | Farthest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walking | 3 mph | 1,290 years | 5,387 years | 9,484 years |
| Bicycle | 12 mph | 323 years | 1,347 years | 2,371 years |
| Car on a highway | 65 mph | 59.5 years | 249 years | 438 years |
| Passenger jet | 570 mph | 6.8 years | 28.4 years | 49.9 years |
| SR-71 Blackbird, its official speed record | 2,193 mph | 645 days | 7.4 years | 13.0 years |
| Voyager 1, about 17 km/s | 38,028 mph | 37 days | 155 days | 273 days |
| Parker Solar Probe at closest approach, 692,000 km/h | 429,989 mph | 3 days 7 hours | 14 days | 24 days |
| Light | 670,616,629 mph | 3 minutes 2 seconds | 12 minutes 41 seconds | 22 minutes 19 seconds |
How long real spacecraft took
Perseverance needed 203 days and Curiosity 254 days. Spacecraft rarely fly straight at a target. They follow curved paths timed to launch windows, so the trip is longer than the distance alone suggests.
| Mission | Launched | Arrived | Trip time | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perseverance | July 30, 2020 | February 18, 2021 | 203 days | Landed in Jezero Crater |
| Curiosity | November 26, 2011 | August 6, 2012 | 254 days | Landed in Gale Crater |
Why the answer changes
Mars is 7.4 times farther away at its farthest than at its closest, so every travel time above is 7.4 times longer at the far end. The distance depends on where both planets are in their orbits. The closest figure is the smallest possible gap, and the typical figure is the midpoint between the closest and the farthest.
Try your own speed
Other destinations
Sources and method
- Distances: NASA Planetary Fact Sheet, accessed October 18, 2026. Closest and farthest are the minimum and maximum distance from Earth in NASA's table. Typical is the midpoint, except for the Moon (average distance) and the Sun (mean distance).
- Vehicle speeds are round figures chosen for comparison, not measurements. Light travels at 299,792.458 km/s.
- Perseverance: NASA launch announcement, date only.
- Curiosity: Secondary sources that agree with NASA's dates.