Going to a body with atmosphere is easier than going to one without. You get free braking (~8500m/s of delta-v according to Elon, for Mars) thanks to the atmosp

Going to a body with atmosphere is easier than going to one without. You get free braking (~8500m/s of delta-v according to Elon, for Mars) thanks to the atmosphere. Anything without an atmosphere you have to carry the fuel to stop after chasing it down, then land on it slow enough not to die. For robotic missions we can approach these objects in very favorable orbits with transit times measured in years, so the delta-v needed to slow down is manageable. For human-based missions we have to get there fast. Going there fast means you have to dump alot of speed to stop once you get there. Without an atmosphere, that takes fuel. Not as much as it took you to reach that velocity, since you're lighter now, but still just about as much in terms of delta-v. I learned this playing KSP. It will open your eyes to the real challenges of orbital mechanics. The hardest planet to land on in the entire game is the one with a mass/gravity approaching the game version of earth, except with no atmosphere. The in-game numbers aren't realistic, but the concepts are. And hell yes, lets go to Mars. Where do I sign up?