• New space trajectory could speed up the journey to the Red Planet
• 2031 has been identified as the best opportunity to take advantage of this new route

Astronomers have revealed a new pathway that could shorten travel time to Mars by hundreds of days, by relying on the orbital paths of small asteroids that behave similarly to near-Earth objects

Also read: OpenAI CEO reveals Elon Musk requested $80 billion to colonize Mars

The distance between Earth and Mars changes periodically depending on their positions in orbit around the Sun, reaching its closest point when the planets align in a configuration known as a “Martian conjunction,” which occurs roughly every 26 months

Although space missions usually take between seven and ten months, the new analysis suggests it may be possible to reduce the duration to about 153 days only

Researchers based their study on analyzing the orbits of small asteroids rather than relying solely on traditional planetary transfer routes, finding that the asteroid “2001 CA21” could serve as a useful transfer corridor for rapid travel between the two planets

Scientists concluded that the year 2031 will offer the most favorable window to utilize this pathway, as the orbital alignment between Earth and Mars will be especially suitable for enabling such fast missions

The researchers noted that this discovery introduces a new method for planning space missions, and could help in designing faster interplanetary journeys in the future

Scientists also hope that studying near-Earth small-body orbits will contribute to developing more efficient methods for travel between planets