At 161 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour), it would take approximately 14,583 days or 40 years to reach Mars. However, if you wanted to get some exercise, you could walk (at 6 kilometers per hour or 3.7 miles per hour) and reach Mars in 1,065 years!
Earth and Mars orbit the Sun at distinct velocities and distances, so the distance between us varies significantly.
We are on opposite sides of the Sun (known as solar conjunction) when we are approximately 401 million kilometers (249 million miles) apart.
225 million km is the average distance between Earth and Mars (140 million miles)
When both planets are on the same side of the Sun (called opposition), they are approximately 56 million kilometers (34.7 million miles) apart. This occurs every two years and represents our launch window to Mars.
The first successful mission to Mars, Viking 1, was launched on August 20, 1975, and landed on the planet ten months later, on June 19, 1976.
In 2003 and 2004, it took Spirit and Opportunity only six months to reach Mars.
The Curiosity rover was launched on November 26, 2011 and touched down on Mars on August 5, 2012.
The Perseverance rover will launch on July 30, 2020, and land on Mars on February 18, 2021.
Multiple space agencies are striving towards a manned Mars mission.
NASA is aiming for a nine-month voyage, whereas SpaceX aims to reduce it to six months.
The duration required to travel from Earth to Mars is primarily determined by the method of propulsion employed.
Currently under development is a photon propulsion system that would use a powerful laser to accelerate spacecraft to near the speed of light, shortening the voyage to only three days!