Here's why:

* Speed of light: Light travels at a constant speed of approximately 299,792 kilometers per second (186,282 miles per second).

* Distance to Mars: The distance between Earth and Mars varies depending on their positions in their orbits. The average distance is about 225 million kilometers (140 million miles).

Calculation:

* Time = Distance / Speed

* Time = 225,000,000 km / 299,792 km/s

* Time ≈ 750 seconds

* Time ≈ 12.5 minutes