Thread: To Mars vs on Mars

We have an argument with friend of mine. Help, please.
What is a correct way to ask -
Have you been to Mars? or
Have you been on Mars?

Вы бывали на Марсе?

Most people would say, "to Mars".
However "on Mars" is grammatically correct.

Thank you, DDT.

What? Nobody is speaking up?! DDT is wrong!

Have you been on Mars? is the right choice!

Compare:
Where have you been? On Mars?
Where did you go? To Mars?

Well Klinky ol' boy, well just have to put it to a vote.

A direct translation of the Russian sentence would be "... on Mars", but no-one would ever say that in English (though both sentences are grammatically correct).

It'd be like asking "have you been in Russia?"

Originally Posted by CTPEKO3A

We have an argument with friend of mine. Help, please.
What is a correct way to ask -
Have you been to Mars? or
Have you been on Mars?

Вы бывали на Марсе?

Both are correct. It does not matter in this case.
However, there is a slight difference in meaning.
"to" implies you traveled there
"on" implies that you were standing on the planet. But if you were on Mars, then you travelled there. It does not matter.

Originally Posted by scotcher

It'd be like asking "have you been in Russia?"

It is better to say "Have you been to Russia?"
But you can say "Have you been living in Russia for a long time?"