Why is it so hard to get to Mercury?

[Jojo_Apocalypse]

I've used rockets that had 36 titan engines as the first stage and that same rocket has 5 stages! Heck I could even go to mars and return yet I can't even land safely on Mercury.

 

[Astatium_209]

I've used rockets that had 36 titan engines as the first stage and that same rocket has 5 stages! Heck I could even go to mars and return yet I can't even land safely on Mercury.

I recommend you read through this gravity assist tutorial by Altaïr , it's very useful for stuff like this.

 

[stellarzone]

I've used rockets that had 36 titan engines as the first stage and that same rocket has 5 stages! Heck I could even go to mars and return yet I can't even land safely on Mercury.

Why 36? That seems like overkill to me

 

[Altaïr]

I've used rockets that had 36 titan engines as the first stage and that same rocket has 5 stages! Heck I could even go to mars and return yet I can't even land safely on Mercury.

Mercury is a hard destination yes. Much harder than Mars, so the fact that you can go to Mars and return from it doesn't mean anything.

However you don't need such a big rocket to go to Mercury. Maybe we can help you to improve its design? For a first time you can try using the ion engines to make things easier. They are a pain to use because of their low thrust, but they are incredibly durable.

Do you know how to perform interplanetary transfers? That's very important for Mercury. A gravity assist with Venus can greatly help, but this requires some practice.

I would go step by step, first try to make a rocket to send a small satellite in Mercury orbit. No need to return, just reach Mercury orbit, that will be a good start, and you will learn a lot of things for a more ambitious mission.