11. How long does it take to travel to the Moon? (A K2S Question)

From The Space Library

The time it takes to travel to the Moon is largely a function of the amount of energy used to leave an orbit around the Earth. It could vary from two or three days to longer depending on the transfer orbit being used to reach the Moon. Travelers may then spend additional time in lunar orbit before going to the surface. It basically depends on our mode of transportation. If we're using a powerful nuclear rocket we could be there in a few hours (~three hours at a constant one-g). Unfortunately, we don't have those yet, and aren't that close, in terms of the technology. Chemical rockets like the ones we currently use can get us there in about two or three days, at the quickest—two days would use much more fuel. A trip taking closer to a week may be more realistic, with Space Station stops. There are some rocket motors, called ion engines, which accelerate very, very slowly (but constantly) and take a long time to get there, measured in weeks and months. This option is foreseen for supplies and scientific probes. The European Space Agency's SMART-1 probe is a good example of this type of mission.

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Answer provided by Thomas Matula, Ph.D. & Kenneth J. Murphy

Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer

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