Getting to Mars

**Getting to Mars** is relatively easy because it is close to Earth, has a thin atmosphere, low gravity and smooth terrain. A mission to Mars is required after a moon mission. A small 2-stage rocket can get there because of the low delta-v requirement of 1205 m/s. A 3-stage rocket is also capable of going to Mars. See this page for more info.

## Rocket

A rocket must have 3 rocket stages in order to get to Mars.

### First stage

The first stage can push the rocket out of the launchpad and put it into a suborbital trajectory around the Earth. The first stage can have atmospheric engines such as the Hawk or Titan engine. Frontier engine could be used for efficiency. Th first stage must have some large fuel tanks (preferably 6 or 8 wide).

Strap-on boosters may be optional if the rocket has a low TWR.

### Second stage

The second stage can be used to get the rocket into a parking orbit and do the trans-Martian injection and optionally get to orbit around Mars. It should use vacuum engines (Valiant or Frontier), and lesser fuel than the first stage.

### Third stage

The third stage should be able to get on the surface of Mars. There must be a low-thrust engine (Valiant/Kolibri), and heat shields may be required to survive atmospheric entry, but the atmosphere can be negligible. It must bring landing legs and parachutes for the final descent on the surface.

## Mission

If you done this incorrectly on one of the steps, you will get back to the launch pad of earth/the building area.

### Launch

Getting to Mars must start by getting to space and a parking orbit around Earth. Before launch, Earth and Mars must be aligned properly. Pretend the two planets are a clock's hands. If Earth is fixed as if it were the hour hand is at the 12:00 position, then Mars, the minute hand should be around 45 degrees behind the hour hand, making it roughly at a 2:30 position. At liftoff, all engines (and boosters) should work properly. Turn to one side when the altitude gets to 500 meters.

When the boosters run out of fuel, they must be separated. After the first stage runs out of fuel, the rocket should at least have a suborbital trajectory around Earth.

### Getting to orbit

Continue firing the first stage engines until the trajectory wraps around the earth. If it is separated, turn on the second stage engine and fire it until the trajectory wraps around the Earth. We won't stay in this orbit for long. Zoom out from Earth from the map, select Mars, click *Navigate To*, and a transfer window will appear with a dotted line to represent the nominal trajectory.

### Trans-Martian injection

When the rocket is in orbit, time warp to the transfer window, and at the transfer window, fire the second stage engine until the trajectory intersects Mars. Then time warp until the rocket reaches the closest point on Mars.

Deep space maneuvers may be needed while coasting to Mars for trajectory corrections. The trajectory changes from time to time, so it's best to correct the trajectory before it's too late.

### Mars landing

When the rocket is at its closest point on Mars, fire the second stage engine until the trajectory makes a circle around Mars, or continue firing until the rocket gets a suborbital trajectory on Mars. Detach the second stage. Aerobraking may be necessary for saving fuel, but Mars's thin atmosphere cannot slow down a rocket significantly in the upper atmosphere, so try to intersect Mars's atmosphere at 8 km or lower.

Phobos and/or Deimos can get in the way of coasting to Mars, so it's best to make an extra DSM inside the sphere of influence of Mars while still far away from it. If done too close to Mars, there may be a chance that it will use too much fuel consumption.

When you are in orbit around Mars, pick a landing spot and fire the engine until you get a suborbital trajectory around Mars. Upon entering the atmosphere, fire the engine to slow down. Ignore the heating effects. If the rocket is traveling at more than 500 m/s, you need a heat shield to protect the rocket from the heats of reentry. Once the altitude drops below 5 kilometers, deploy the landing gear and the parachutes. A landing burn may be necessary.

**Note:** Mars' atmosphere is thin, so you need multiple parachutes or landing burns to safely descend and land on the surface,

### Returning to Earth (optional)

Just like before the launch, Earth and Mars must be aligned properly. Pretend Earth and Mars are a clock's hands. If Mars is in the 12:00 position then Earth must be at the 5:30 position. So Earth should be approximately 75 degrees ahead of Mars.

When they are now aligned properly, fire the engine until the apoapsis gets to around 25 km. When reaching the apoapsis turn to the side and fire the engine until the trajectory wraps around Mars. Select Earth, then click *Navigate To*. A transfer window will appear with the nominal trajectory. Time warp until the rocket gets to the transfer window, then fire the engine. A trans-terrestrial injection from Mars spends less delta-v than a trans-Martian injection from Earth. Aerobraking can be optional.

After the transfer burn, time warp until you are nearing the atmosphere. Detach the capsule. When the capsule renters the atmosphere face the heat shield towards the direction of travel. When you are in a lower altitude deploy the parachute, detach the heat shield, land on Earth and the mission is done.

### Tips

1. It's advised to explore Mars's moons before/after landing. You might find some stunning discoveries there.
2. If the rocket's trajectory intersects Mars's lower atmosphere or surface, you need a heat shield or a retrograde burn before hitting the atmosphere.
3. Refueling during the mission can be helpful, especially if you are low in fuel while in orbit.
4. Trajectory correction maneuvers must be done while coasting to Mars or it will fail the mission.
5. Create a quick save to avoid mistakes during the mission.

## Activities

*Main article: Mars Activities*

Activities on Mars include:

* Exploration of its surface
* Research
* Space stations
* Orbiters
* Atmospheric research
* Many more...

## See also

* Getting to the moon
* Getting to orbit
* Mars
* Mars Return Mission
* Tutorial