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2026-05-01 Science & Technology

Mars and back in just 153 days! Scientists have found a SHORTCUT that could dramatically cut the time it takes to reach the Red Planet

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Posted by Skidmark 2026-05-01 00:00|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [1797 views ] Top

1 Astronaut Jose Jimenez aka Bill Dana reports that he's thinking about sitting this one out.

Posted by Besoeker 2026-05-01 00:40|| 2026-05-01 00:40|| Front Page Top

2 So what happens if something goes wrong and the very short window is missed? Do we get another Tom Hank’s movie?

Posted by Super Hose 2026-05-01 06:18|| 2026-05-01 06:18|| Front Page Top

3 Super Hose, we get another ;'Lost In Space'!

Posted by Seeking Cure For Ignorance 2026-05-01 08:07|| 2026-05-01 08:07|| Front Page Top

4 I've always wondered if the "Hyper Space" in all the scifi would ever be found.....maybe that could be Elon's next big adventure.

Posted by alanc 2026-05-01 08:32|| 2026-05-01 08:32|| Front Page Top

5 Your trip to Mars has a better chance of success than a trip to the next Tom Hanks movie.

Posted by swksvolFF 2026-05-01 10:04|| 2026-05-01 10:04|| Front Page Top

6 At one point on X, Musk released an update that he had decided to forgo Mars to focus on Uranus. There were people in the comments that didn’t understand that he was making an immature joke to millions of people.

Posted by Super Hose 2026-05-01 10:19|| 2026-05-01 10:19|| Front Page Top

7 I cannot believe no one studied the orbits before and did not notice the shortest route was when they were on the same side of the sun.

Posted by mossomo 2026-05-01 12:46|| 2026-05-01 12:46|| Front Page Top

8 I forget where I heard it, but someone called this Generation Columbus, after the trope about Columbus Discovering The New World except for the fact that everyone already knew about it, especially the people living there.

Posted by swksvolFF 2026-05-01 14:07|| 2026-05-01 14:07|| Front Page Top

9 mossomo it has been known since we started thinking about sending probes to Mars, so not new Daily Mail. Wankers.

Anyway, it is a short window to make, but if you miss it just adds time. But if you run into issues on Mars and miss the window... do you have enough supplies to make it back before they run out? That is the kicker. Sending a supply ship before has been talked about, but it runs the same risk of things going wrong and the crew is fucked still.

Posted by DarthVader 2026-05-01 15:02|| 2026-05-01 15:02|| Front Page Top

10 This is an important scientific principle: The distance between any two objects is directly proportional to how far apart they are.

Sending a supply ship before has been talked about, but it runs the same risk of things going wrong and the crew is fucked still.

Unless we send autonomous supply ships. I believe we already send robot cargo ships to resupply the International Space Station.

We could even pre-supply Mars via robots so when the first colonists arrive, all they have to do is turn on the A/C and begin to assemble the Ikea flat pack furniture.

The concern about timing and orbits is important. You thought it was a long way to Tipperary, that's nothing compared to Mars on the far side.

Posted by SteveS 2026-05-01 16:35|| 2026-05-01 16:35|| Front Page Top

11 HG Wells' War of the Worlds was based on it being Mars-Earth opposition during the invasion.
This is not new information.

Posted by ed in texas 2026-05-01 21:21|| 2026-05-01 21:21|| Front Page Top

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