The Epoch


When should people begin using a Martian calendar?

General

Now

Pro

The need to keep a Martian calendar of even a rudimentary form began with the landing of the Viking 1 spacecraft in July 1976. The sol of the landing was designated "Sol 0", and the sols that followed were numbered successively. With the landing of this first unmanned spacecraft, humans began working on the surface of Mars, albeit by proxy, and thus it was that humans began working by Martian time.

A Martian calendar could be an important symbol of the emerging Martian culture on Earth. The early adoption of such a system of social measurement could be a factor in the coalescing of a cultural identity, which in turn could serve to hasten the date of the first human landing. We must ask ourselves whether we who are Earthbound, yet whose hearts are bound to Mars, are Martian enough to take a hand in designing tomorrow.

Con

There is no practical need to use a Martian calendar on Earth. Robotic surface missions will probably continue to count sols starting from the landing of each spacecraft.

Source Documents:
Document A Mars Proleptic Calendar and Sol-Date Timing Reference
Michael Allison
Document Arih Martian Calendar
Igor Arih
Document Arihrov Marsovski Koledar
Igor Arih
Document A Thought for the Future
William H. Becker
Document The Darian Defrost Calendar
Frans Blok
Document The Rotterdam Month and Weekday Naming System
Frans Blok
Document Waar blijft de tijd op Mars?
Frans Blok
Document Martian Timekeeping
Geoffrey Briggs and Howard Houben
Document Simplest Possible Mars Calendar Used in the Novel As It Is On Mars
Thomas W. Cronin
Document Mars Time
Elysium Mars
Document Excerpts from Martian Rainbow
Robert L. Forward
Document The Darian System
Thomas Gangale
Document The Millennium Mars Calendar
James M. Graham and Kandis Elliot
Document Excerpts from Across the Zodiac
Percy Greg
Document Excerpts from Mars Underground
William K. Hartmann
Document An Easily Understood Calendar and Time System for Mars
Leon G. Heron
Document Towards a Better Martian Calendar
Mark Knoke
Document It's About Time
I. M. Levitt
Document Mars Clock and Calendar
I. M. Levitt
Document The Utopian Calendar
Mars Time Group
Document The Areosynchronous Calendar
Shaun Moss
Document The Kepler Calendar
Shaun Moss
Document Martian Dreams Time System
Linda Naughton and Robert O'Meara
document Salvas Calendar System for Mars
Keith Salvas
Document Calendario en Marte
Miguel Angel Serra Martín
Document Mars Calendar
Miguel Angel Serra Martín
Document Martian Timekeeping
Anders Ström
Document A Mars Calendar
Richard Weidner
Document Options for Martian Timekeeping
William Woods

First human landing

Pro

The establishment of a Martian calendar should be left to Martian colonists, who will evolve their own distinctive culture. The Martian calendar should be an expression of that culture.

Con

Choosing this option prevents the establishment of a Martian calendar until some unknown point in the future. This deprives the Humans to Mars movement of an early opportunity to define a distinctive, emerging culture.

Source Documents:
Document Space Studies 200 Group Project
Ryan Kramer et al.
Document The QS Calendar
Jelmer Oosthoek
Document Excerpts from Red Mars
Kim Stanley Robinson
Document Martian Timekeeping
Anders Ström

First permanent base

Pro

The establishment of a Martian calendar should be left to Martian colonists, who will evolve their own distinctive culture. The Martian calendar should be an expression of that culture.

Con

Choosing this option prevents the establishment of a Martian calendar until some unknown point in the future. This deprives the Humans to Mars movement of an early opportunity to define a distinctive, emerging culture.


On what annual cycle should the Martian numerical year increment?

General

Half Martian cycle

Pro

Half of a Martian year provides a closer approximation to the terrestrial year used by the rest of the human race. It might not be only for astronomical reasons that we group together events in this period of time.

For instance, Martian colonists should be able to celebrate anniversaries about as often as everyone else. Otherwise, they'll probably celebrate half-birthdays, and call their age such-and-such "and-a-half."

Wouldn't a half-year of 12 months of 28 days serve just as well as a full year of twenty-four months of 28 days? Inside habitats, the temperature of the seasons is only going to change imperceptibly anyway. The odd-or-even number of the half-year will be enough to say if cyclical weather events are coming, such as, perhaps, dust-storms. This way, the familiar twelve month names can simply repeat.

Con

Earth cycle

Pro

  • Avoids confusion with peoples' ages. A "20-year-old man" means the same on Earth as on Mars.

  • Provides a connection between Earth time and Martian time for people to relate to.

  • Means one less thing to worry about in Earth/Mars time conversions.

The origin of most human calendar systems can be traced to an agrarian need to forecast the arrival of certain seasonal events associated with the weather. On a planet where most people will live most of their lives indoors, where the seasons break down into damn cold and damn colder, but more to the point where lives are governed more by technology than the weather, there is no reason to tie a calendar to the revolution of Mars about the sun.

Con

  • Loses the connection between years and seasons. 2182 might contain Fall and Winter, and 2183 Spring and Summer (as an example).

  • Loses the connection between years and the planet's revolution around the sun.

Just because Mars is damned cold does not mean that its seasonal changes are unimportant. Rather, it means that in moving to Mars, we will have to adjust our understanding to accommodate the seasonal changes that occur on Mars. There are a number of annual phenomena that will probably have great influence on Martian colonial life. One of these is the deposition and sublimation of carbon dioxide in the polar regions. This is an important resource that colonists must learn to manage. Another consideration is the dust storm season, which may disrupt transportation (surface, sub-orbital, ans surface to orbit) and communication, as well as damage equipment. The variation in insolation as Mars approaches and recedes from the Sun is yet a third important phenomenon, which will have to be accounted for in solar power system designs, as will the shorter hours of daylight and the attenuation of sunlight due to lower sun angles during autumn and winter. Finally, equipment on the surface will be affected by the seasonal variation in temperature.

Our technology does not make us invulnerable to weather. Disasters occur when such technological hubris engenders a cavalier disregard for environmental conditions. The captain of the "unsinkable" Titanic gambled on speeding along a shorter, more northerly route across the North Atlantic in April and lost. The launch director of the Challenger gambled on maintaining the Space Shuttle program's aggressive launch schedule on a cold January morning and lost.

Technology is the means by which we access and manage the resources of our environment, it does not isolate us from the environment. On a world where accessing resources will be challenging in the extreme, and the margin between life and death will be razor thin, an intimate knowledge of Mars’ seasonal cycles will be prerequisite to the success of the colonies. Therefore, a calendar based on the orbital period of Mars is manifestly the best choice for organizing human activity in harmony with the rhythms of its new environment.

Source Documents:
Document Excerpts from Mars Underground
William K. Hartmann
Document Martian Dreams Time System
Linda Naughton and Robert O'Meara

Martian cycle

Pro

There are a number of annual phenomena that will probably have great influence on Martian colonial life. One of these is the deposition and sublimation of carbon dioxide in the polar regions. This is an important resource that colonists must learn to manage. Another consideration is the dust storm season, which may disrupt transportation (surface, sub-orbital, ans surface to orbit) and communication, as well as damage equipment. The variation in insolation as Mars approaches and recedes from the Sun is yet a third important phenomenon, which will have to be accounted for in solar power system designs, as will the shorter hours of daylight and the attenuation of sunlight due to lower sun angles during autumn and winter. Finally, equipment on the surface will be affected by the seasonal variation in temperature.

On a world where accessing resources will be challenging in the extreme, and the margin between life and death will be razor thin, an intimate knowledge of Mars’ seasonal cycles will be prerequisite to the success of the colonies. Therefore, a calendar based on the orbital period of Mars is manifestly the best choice for organizing human activity in harmony with the rhythms of its new environment.

Con

Gregorian calendar years and Martian calendar years will not coincide.

On Earth using one revolution about the sun produces something that also tracks the cycle of seasons and therefore conforms to the cycle of life -- of importance to agrarian societies (and nonagrarian societies as well that are dependent upon a biosphere). But basing the Martian calendar upon a revolution about the sun may be a mistake from the standpoint of creating a civil calendar. Even the cycle of life on Mars may be more a function of the timers on the lights in the greenhouse than the external weather. So the basis for the year may best rest upon something else.

Consider that a Martian kid on his 8th birthday will probably be pretty pissed to know that an Earth kid has already had twice as many birthday parties. It might not be too bad to only have to buy your spouse an anniversary present once a Martian year, but maybe nuptials should be celebrated a little more frequently? Or consider the accounting scandals among Martian corporations that only have to file annual reports once every 669 sols. How long will it be before a Martian government decides you have to file you income taxes twice a year as doing it only once a year does not provide an adequate revenue stream to provide the services demanded of a rapidly growing population or to manage a global terraforming project? Who wants a 6 month summer rerun season on TV? Maybe the problem is not that you need to create months to make the Martian year more manageable, maybe the year is just defined too long. The revyear and the civyear could be very different.

Source Documents:
Document Time Measures on Mars
Robert G. Aitken
Document A Mars Proleptic Calendar and Sol-Date Timing Reference
Michael Allison
Document Arih Martian Calendar
Igor Arih
Document Arihrov Marsovski Koledar
Igor Arih
Document Seasons on Mars
Frank N. Bauregger
Document A Thought for the Future
William H. Becker
Document The Darian Defrost Calendar
Frans Blok
Document The Rotterdam Month and Weekday Naming System
Frans Blok
Document Waar blijft de tijd op Mars?
Frans Blok
Document Mars Calendar
Blort
Document Martian Timekeeping
Geoffrey Briggs and Howard Houben
Document Excerpts from The Gods of Mars and The Warlord of Mars
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Document Simplest Possible Mars Calendar Used in the Novel As It Is On Mars
Thomas W. Cronin
Document Time Keeping on Mars
Alan Dechert
Document 600-Year Martian Calendar
Alan Dechert
Document Mars Time
Elysium Mars
Document Excerpts from Martian Rainbow
Robert L. Forward
Document The Darian System
Thomas Gangale
Document The Millennium Mars Calendar
James M. Graham and Kandis Elliot
Document Excerpts from Across the Zodiac
Percy Greg
Document The Fortieth of July
Pierre Hallet
Document An Easily Understood Calendar and Time System for Mars
Leon G. Heron
Document The Thothian Wheel
Fred Hightower
Document Rationale for the Martian Calendar's Structure
Bill Hollon
Document Life on Mars - A Shareware Strategy Game
Innaky
Document Towards a Better Martian Calendar
Mark Knoke
Document A Four Season Split-year Calendar for Mars
Peter Kokh
Document The "Mars Pulse" Calendar
Peter Kokh
Document Zubrin's Mars Calendar
Peter Kokh
Document Space Studies 200 Group Project
Ryan Kramer et al.
Document Calendar for Mars
Mike Kretsch
Document A New Calendar and Clock for the Planet Mars
Manfred Krutein
Document Martian Calendar
Roger E. Kuiper
Document SCDTL Calendar and Clock for Mars
Lance Latham
Document It's About Time
I. M. Levitt
Document Mars Clock and Calendar
I. M. Levitt
Document Excerpts from The Greening of Mars
James Lovelock and Michael Allaby
Document Excerpts from Mars
Percival Lowell
Document Excerpts from Guide to Mars
Patrick Moore
Document The Utopian Calendar
Mars Time Group
Document The Areosynchronous Calendar
Shaun Moss
Document The Kepler Calendar
Shaun Moss
Document The QS Calendar
Jelmer Oosthoek
Document Calendar for Mars
Robert S. Richardson
Document Excerpts from Red Mars
Kim Stanley Robinson
document Salvas Calendar System for Mars
Keith Salvas
Document Time on Mars
John J. G. Savard
Document Martian Clock and Calendar
Mickey D. Schmidt
Document Calendario en Marte
Miguel Angel Serra Martín
Document Mars Calendar
Miguel Angel Serra Martín
Document Martian Calendar
Anton Sherwood
Document A Calendar for Mars
Josef Šurán
Document An Explanation of Zubrin's Mars Calendar
Paul J. Thomas
Document The Martian Calendar
M. Vertregt
Document Martian Year Revisited
M. Vertregt and Francis Graham
Document A Mars Calendar
Richard Weidner
Document A Timekeeping System For Mars
Ben Weiss
Document Options for Martian Timekeeping
William Woods
Document A Calendar for Mars
Robert Zubrin


What event should begin the counting of calendar years?

General

The exact current Martian year for each system listed below depends on the point in the Martian orbit that is defined as the first day of the calendar year. The Earth dates specified only approximately define the Martian year. The exact number of the current Martian year also depends on whether the initial year is defined as 0 or 1.

Fictional foundation of the global Martian state

22, 982 BCE

This is a fictional date from Percy Greg's novel, Across the Zodiac, on which a "union of all races and nations in a single State" was established on Mars.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 13,282.

Pro

All of recorded human history can be expressed in positive numbers.

Con

This date has no historical significance. There is no need to express all of recorded human history in Martian years. Earthly events need only be expressed in Earthly dates, and Martian dates need only be applied to events on Mars. Also, the further back in time that a calendar is retroactively defined, the more uncertainty there is in its physical accuracy, due to slight irregularities in the rotations of both Earth and Mars.

Source Documents:
Document Excerpts from Across the Zodiac
Percy Greg

Beginning of the Julian period

4713 BCE

This date represents the coincidence of three cycles:

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 3569.

Pro

This calibrates the Martian timekeeping system to the standard chronology used in astronomy. All of recorded human history can be expressed in positive numbers.

Con

There is no need to express all of recorded human history in Martian years. Earthly events need only be expressed in Earthly dates, and Martian dates need only be applied to events on Mars. Also, the further back in time that a calendar is retroactively defined, the more uncertainty there is in its physical accuracy, due to slight irregularities in the rotations of both Earth and Mars.

Source Documents:
Document It's About Time
I. M. Levitt
Document Mars Clock and Calendar
I. M. Levitt

Beginning of cyclical intercalation system

4225 BCE

This date is based on the regression of ten intercalation cycles of 310 Martian years each.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 3309.

Pro

All of recorded human history can be expressed in positive numbers.

Con

This date has no historical significance. The author states that his 310-year series does not repeat. "There is no reason to believe that the series holds outside the span of 1609 to 2910 CE Gregorian Calendar." Thus calculation back ten such cycles in order to define an epoch is arbitrary.

There is no need to express all of recorded human history in Martian years. Earthly events need only be expressed in Earthly dates, and Martian dates need only be applied to events on Mars. Also, the further back in time that a calendar is retroactively defined, the more uncertainty there is in its physical accuracy, due to slight irregularities in the rotations of both Earth and Mars.

Source Documents:
Document A Mars Calendar
Richard Weidner

Beginning of the Common Era

1 CE

This date is based on the traditional birthdate of Jesus of Nazareth.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 1064, except for those systems in which the year count increments on the terrestrial cycle.

Pro

This calibrates the Martian timekeeping system to the standard civil timekeeping system of Earth.

Con

Calibrating the Martian Epoch to the Common Era is not a straightforward proposition, since two different Roman calendars have been used during the Common Era: the Julian and Gregorian calendars. In any case, there is no need to express all of the Common Era in Martian years. Earthly events need only be expressed in Earthly dates, and Martian dates need only be applied to events on Mars. Also, the further back in time that a calendar is retroactively defined, the more uncertainty there is in its physical accuracy, due to slight irregularities in the rotations of both Earth and Mars.

Source Documents:
Document Mars Calendar
Blort
Document Simplest Possible Mars Calendar Used in the Novel As It Is On Mars
Thomas W. Cronin
Document Martian Dreams Time System
Linda Naughton and Robert O'Meara

Beginning of the Telescopic Period

1609 CE

During the Martian year encompassing the Common Era years 1609 and 1610, Johannes Kepler published his first two laws of planetary motion, and Galileo Galilei made the first telescopic observations of Mars.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 208.

Pro

After years of studying the orbit of Mars in particular, Johannes Kepler published his first two laws of planetary motion. Accurate characterization of the elliptical orbit of Mars inspired Isaac Newton's Principia Mathematica, from which all of modern mathematics and science has flowed. This date is also the approximate beginning of the history of the observation of Mars by telescope. In terms of the human experience of Mars, the epoch marks the end of one historical period, the Gymnoptic ("naked-eye"), and the beginning of the next, the Telescopic.

Con

Earthly events need only be expressed in Earthly dates, and Martian dates need only be applied to events on Mars. Also, the further back in time that a calendar is retroactively defined, the more uncertainty there is in its physical accuracy, due to slight irregularities in the rotations of both Earth and Mars.

Source Documents:
Document The Darian Defrost Calendar
Frans Blok
Document The Rotterdam Month and Weekday Naming System
Frans Blok
Document Waar blijft de tijd op Mars?
Frans Blok
Document The Darian System
Thomas Gangale
Document The Utopian Calendar
Mars Time Group

Most recent Martian vernal equinox occurring on January 1st

1707 CE

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 156.

Pro

All historical events pertaining to Mars—beginning with the first detailed telescopic observations—can be expressed in positive numbers.

Con

This date has no historical significance. Also, this epoch would cause all the telescopic observations recorded prior to this date to be represented by negative dates. This includes Cassini's determination of the rotational period of Mars in 1666.

Simultaneous Earth midnight and Martian noon on their prime meridians

1873 CE

On 29 Dec 1873, midnight at 0° on Mars occurred at approximately noon at 0° on Earth.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 68.

Pro

All historical events pertaining to Mars—beginning with the first detailed telescopic observations—can be expressed in positive numbers.

Con

This date has no historical significance. Also, this epoch would cause all the telescopic observations recorded prior to this date to be represented by negative dates. This includes Cassini's determination of the rotational period of Mars in 1666 and Maraldi's study of the seasonal variability of the polar caps in the early 18th century.

Source Documents:
Document A Mars Proleptic Calendar and Sol-Date Timing Reference
Michael Allison

Martian vernal equinox prior to the first observed global dust storm

1955 CE

This date was proposed in 2000 by atmosphereic scientist R. T. Clancy, and that community is slowly adopting this as a standard.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 23.

Pro

All historical events in the vicinity of Mars—whether human or robotic—can be expressed in positive numbers.

Con

This date has minor historical significance, and its use serves the purpose of a narrowly-focus group of researchers. Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause 350 years of telescopic observations of Mars to be expressed in negative dates.

Erroneous most recent Martian vernal equinox occurring on January 1st

1961 CE

This date was proposed as the most recent Martian vernal equinox occurring on January 1st. However, this date reflects 32 days of accumulated error due to the author's oversimplified 8:15 ratio of Mars years to Earth years. The Martian vernal equinox nearest this date actually occurred on 30 November 1960 CE, and the most recent Martian vernal equinox occurring on January 1st was in 1707 CE.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 21.

Pro

All historical events in the vicinity of Mars—whether human or robotic—can be expressed in positive numbers.

Con

This date has no astronomical significance, since it is based on an erroneous calculation. It also has no historical significance. Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause 350 years of telescopic observations of Mars to be expressed in negative dates.

Source Documents:
Document A Critique of Robert Zubrin's Martian Calendar
Thomas Gangale and Marilyn Dudley-Rowley
Document Zubrin's Mars Calendar
Peter Kokh
Document An Explanation of Zubrin's Mars Calendar
Paul J. Thomas
Document A Calendar for Mars
Robert Zubrin
Document A Calendar for the Planet Mars
Robert Zubrin

Mariner 4 flyby

1965 CE

Mariner 4 was the first robotic spacecraft to achieve a successful flyby of Mars.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 18.

Pro

The data returned by Mariner 4 ended the Lowellian vision of Mars that had dominated the popular imagination since the 1890s.

Con

Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause 350 years of telescopic observations of Mars to be expressed in negative dates.

Mariner 9 orbit and Mars 3 landing

1971 CE

Mariner 9 was the first robotic spacecraft to orbit Mars. Mars 3 was the first robotic spacecraft to land on Mars, although transmissions ceased after only 20 seconds.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 16.

Pro

Celebrating the arrival of both an American and Soviet spacecraft, this epoch is symbolic of the international exploration of Mars.

Con

Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause more than 350 years of telescopic observations of Mars to be expressed in negative dates.

Source Documents:
Document Calendario en Marte
Miguel Angel Serra Martín
Document Mars Calendar
Miguel Angel Serra Martín

Viking 1 landing

1976 CE

Viking 1 was the first robotic spacecraft to achieve a successful landing on Mars and return useful scientific data from its surface.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 14.

Pro

This was the first successful landing of a robotic spacecraft on Mars. The mission resulted in the first sustained remote human presence on Mars, and for the first time teams of humans operated on the basis of the Martian diurnal cycle. This was the first instance in which Martian time had a human context.

Con

Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause more than 350 years of telescopic observations of Mars to be expressed in negative dates.

This date has nationalistic overtones.

Source Documents:
Document Martian Timekeeping
Geoffrey Briggs and Howard Houben
Document The Millennium Mars Calendar
James M. Graham and Kandis Elliot
Document An Easily Understood Calendar and Time System for Mars
Leon G. Heron
Document Further Thoughts on Vophicism
Mark Knoke
Document Towards a Better Martian Calendar
Mark Knoke

Viking 1 landing and first human landing

1976 CE and undefined

Viking 1 was the first robotic spacecraft to achieve a successful landing on Mars and return useful scientific data from its surface.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 14.

An interim dating system, starting with the landing of Viking 1, would be used until the first human landing is achieved. There would be three types of Martian dates: Before Viking, After Viking, and Anno Martis.

Pro

This system allows Martian years to be counted, therefore for a Martian calendar to be used, in our time. At the same time, it satisfies those who believe that the Martian calendar should begin with the first human landing.

Con

This system has the complexity of requiring three types of Martian dates, rather than one or two.

Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause more than 350 years of telescopic observations of Mars to be expressed in negative dates.

Founding of the Mars Society

1998 CE

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 2.

Pro

The founding of the Mars Society is a significant event in the emergence of the Martian culture.

Con

Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause nearly 400 years of telescopic observations of Mars, as well as all of the data returned from spacecraft since 1965, to be expressed in negative dates.

End of the 1900s

2000 CE

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 1.

Pro

Con

This date is arbitrary and has no historical significance.

Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause nearly 400 years of telescopic observations of Mars, as well as all of the data returned from spacecraft since 1965, to be expressed in negative dates.

Source Documents:
Document Arih Martian Calendar
Igor Arih
Document Arihrov Marsovski Koledar
Igor Arih
Document Time Keeping on Mars
Alan Dechert
Document 600-Year Martian Calendar
Alan Dechert
Document Excerpts from Martian Rainbow
Robert L. Forward
document Salvas Calendar System for Mars
Keith Salvas

Beginning of the 3rd millennium

2001 CE

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately 0.

Pro

Con

This date is arbitrary and has no historical significance.

Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause nearly 400 years of telescopic observations of Mars, as well as all of the data returned from spacecraft since 1965, to be expressed in negative dates.

Coincidence of the vernal equinoxes of Earth and Mars

2004 CE

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately -2.

Pro

Con

This date is arbitrary and has no historical significance.

Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause nearly 400 years of telescopic observations of Mars, as well as all of the data returned from spacecraft since 1965, to be expressed in negative dates.

Fictional first human landing

2012 CE

This date is based on the fictional first human landing on Mars in a web-based game.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately -5.

Pro

Con

This date is unlikely to have any historical significance.

Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause 400 years of telescopic observations of Mars, as well as all of the data returned from spacecraft since 1965, to be expressed in negative dates.

Source Documents:
Document Martian Timekeeping
Anders Ström

Fictional first human landing

2023 CE

This date is based on a fictional first human landing on Mars.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately -11.

Pro

Con

This date is unlikely to have any historical significance.

Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause more than 400 years of telescopic observations of Mars, as well as all of the data returned from spacecraft since 1965, to be expressed in negative dates.

Source Documents:
Document The QS Calendar
Jelmer Oosthoek

Fictional first human landing

2026 CE

This date is based on the fictional first human landing on Mars in Kim Stanley Robinson's novel, Red Mars.

In this system, the Martian year as of 1 January 2001 was approximately -12.

Pro

Con

This date is unlikely to have any historical significance.

Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause more than 400 years of telescopic observations of Mars, as well as all of the data returned from spacecraft since 1965, to be expressed in negative dates.

First human landing

undefined

Pro

Con

The first human landing cannot be used as an epoch until the event occurs. Choosing this option prevents the establishment of a Martian calendar until some unknown point in the future. This deprives the Humans to Mars movement of an early opportunity to define a distinctive, emerging culture.

Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause more than 400 years of telescopic observations of Mars, as well as all of the data returned from spacecraft since 1965, to be expressed in negative dates.

Source Documents:
Document Space Studies 200 Group Project
Ryan Kramer et al.

First permanent base

undefined

Pro

Con

The establishment of the first permanent base cannot be used as an epoch until the event occurs. Choosing this option prevents the establishment of a Martian calendar until some unknown point in the future. This deprives the Humans to Mars movement of an early opportunity to define a distinctive, emerging culture.

Mars has a considerable human history prior to this date. Using this epoch would cause more than 400 years of telescopic observations of Mars, as well as all of the data returned from spacecraft since 1965, to be expressed in negative dates.


At what time of the year should the calendar begin?

General

Vernal (northward) equinox

LS = 0.0°

Pro

The vernal equinox is the standard reference point in astronomy, marking the point of zero longitude, or LS, in a planet's orbit. On Earth, the beginning of spring signifies the return of life to the land following the dead of winter. On a future Mars undergoing terraforming, the beginning of spring will symbolize the ongoing human effort to bring Mars to life.

Con

Source Documents:
Document Time Measures on Mars
Robert G. Aitken
Document The Darian Defrost Calendar
Frans Blok
Document The Rotterdam Month and Weekday Naming System
Frans Blok
Document Waar blijft de tijd op Mars?
Frans Blok
Document Calendrier Martien du GCM
François Forget et al.
Document The Darian System
Thomas Gangale
Document The Millennium Mars Calendar
James M. Graham and Kandis Elliot
Document Excerpts from Across the Zodiac
Percy Greg
Document Rationale for the Martian Calendar's Structure
Bill Hollon
Document Zubrin's Mars Calendar
Peter Kokh
Document Calendar for Mars
Mike Kretsch
Document The Utopian Calendar
Mars Time Group
Document The Areosynchronous Calendar
Shaun Moss
Document The Kepler Calendar
Shaun Moss
Document Martian Dreams Time System
Linda Naughton and Robert O'Meara
Document The QS Calendar
Jelmer Oosthoek
Document Elemental Martian Calendars
Terry Phelan
Document Calendar for Mars
Robert S. Richardson
Document Time on Mars
John J. G. Savard
Document Martian Clock and Calendar
Mickey D. Schmidt
Document Martian Calendar
Anton Sherwood
Document Martian Timekeeping
Anders Ström
Document An Explanation of Zubrin's Mars Calendar
Paul J. Thomas
Document A Mars Calendar
Richard Weidner
Document A Calendar for Mars
Robert Zubrin
Document A Calendar for the Planet Mars
Robert Zubrin

Position of Mars on the founding of the Mars Society

LS = 15°, LS0 + 29 days

Pro

The founding of the Mars Society is a significant event in the emergence of the Martian culture.

Con

Aphelion

LS = 71.0°, LS0 + 151 days

Aphelion is Mars' farthest point from the Sun.

Pro

Because of the eccentricity of Mars' orbit, aphelion passage has a significant effect on Martian climate. The line of apsides (aphelion to perihelion) divides the Martian orbit and year equally, both in terms of angle, distance, and time.

Con

Summer (northern) solstice

LS = 90.0°, LS0 + 194 days

Pro

Con

Source Documents:
Document A Four Season Split-year Calendar for Mars
Peter Kokh
Document The "Mars Pulse" Calendar
Peter Kokh
Document Elemental Martian Calendars
Terry Phelan

Position of Mars on the Viking 1 landing

LS = 98.5°, LS0 + 209 days

Pro

This was the first successful landing of a robotic spacecraft on Mars. The mission resulted in a sustained remote presence on Mars, and for the first time a team of humans operated on the basis of the Martian diurnal cycle. This was the first instance in which Martian time had a human context.

Con

This date has nationalistic overtones.

16 days after the summer solstice

LS = 97.5°, LS0 + 209 days

Pro

This mimics "July 1st" on Earth's Gregorian calendar.

Con

This date, as an annual event, has no significance on Mars.

Autumnal (southward) equinox

LS = 180.0°, LS0 + 372 days

Pro

Con

Source Documents:
Document Elemental Martian Calendars
Terry Phelan

Position of Mars at the beginning of the Julian period

LS = 230°, LS0 + 457 days

Pro

This calibrates the Martian timekeeping system to the standard chronology used in astronomy.

Con

This date, as an annual event, has no significance on Mars.

Source Documents:
Document It's About Time
I. M. Levitt
Document Mars Clock and Calendar
I. M. Levitt

Perihelion

LS = 251.0°, LS0 + 485 days

Perihelion is Mars' nearest point to the Sun.

Pro

Perihelion is the standard reference point in orbital mechanics. Because of the eccentricity of Mars' orbit, perihelion passage has a significant effect on Martian climate. The line of apsides (aphelion to perihelion) divides the Martian orbit and year equally, both in terms of angle, distance, and time.

Con

Winter (southern) solstice

LS = 270.0°, LS0 + 515 days

Pro

Con

Source Documents:
Document A Thought for the Future
William H. Becker
Document Martian Timekeeping
Geoffrey Briggs and Howard Houben
Document Excerpts from Martian Rainbow
Robert L. Forward
Document A Four Season Split-year Calendar for Mars
Peter Kokh
Document The "Mars Pulse" Calendar
Peter Kokh
Document Martian Calendar
Roger E. Kuiper
Document Elemental Martian Calendars
Terry Phelan
Document Calendario en Marte
Miguel Angel Serra Martín
Document Mars Calendar
Miguel Angel Serra Martín
Document A Calendar for Mars
Josef Šurán

Position of Mars on 1 Jan 2000

LS = 274°, LS0 + 487 days

Pro

Con

Source Documents:
Document Arih Martian Calendar
Igor Arih
Document Arihrov Marsovski Koledar
Igor Arih
Document Simplest Possible Mars Calendar Used in the Novel As It Is On Mars
Thomas W. Cronin
Document Time Keeping on Mars
Alan Dechert
Document 600-Year Martian Calendar
Alan Dechert
document Salvas Calendar System for Mars
Keith Salvas

Position of Mars on 29 Dec 1873

LS = 277.2°, LS0 + 492 days

On this date, midnight at 0° on Mars occurred at approximately noon at 0° on Earth.

Pro

Every 59.02 synodic periods (126.02 Earth years, 67 Martian years), the solar longitudes on Earth and Mars alternate approximately 180°. So, 67 Martian years after 29 Dec 1873 (which was 6 Jan 2000), midinght occurred nearly simultaneously at 0° on both Earth and Mars.

Con

This date, as an annual event, has no significance on Mars.

Source Documents:
Document A Mars Proleptic Calendar and Sol-Date Timing Reference
Michael Allison

12 to 19 days after the winter solstice

LS = 281°, LS0 + 527 to 534 days

Pro

This mimics "January 1st" on Earth's Gregorian calendar.

Con

This date, as an annual event, has no significance on Mars. This idea blindly follows a historical precedent which no longer has a logical reason behind it.

Source Documents:
Document Seasons on Mars
Frank N. Bauregger
Document Mars Calendar
Blort
Document The Darian System
Thomas Gangale
Document An Easily Understood Calendar and Time System for Mars
Leon G. Heron
Document Further Thoughts on Vophicism
Mark Knoke
Document Towards a Better Martian Calendar
Mark Knoke
Document Martian Timekeeping
Anders Ström

107 days before the vernal equinox

LS = 298.2°, LS0 + 562 days

This proposal is intended to place the vernal equinox on "March 1st".

Pro

Con

This date, as an annual event, has no significance on Mars.

Source Documents:
Document Mars Time
Elysium Mars

Position of Mars on the Mars 3 landing

LS = 302°, LS0 + 568 days

Pro

This was the first landing of a robotic spacecraft on Mars.

Con

The mission was a failure. Transmissions ceased after only 20 seconds. Should the Martian calendar year symbolically begin with failure?

After the winter solstice, but before Candlemas

LS = 315°, LS0 + 587 days

Pro

Con

This date, as an annual event, has no significance on Mars.

Position of Mars at the beginning of the Common Era

LS = 351°, LS0 + 652 days

Pro

Con

This date, as an annual event, has no significance on Mars.

Position of Mars on the first human landing

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Pro

Con

The first human landing cannot be used as the first day of the year until the event occurs. Choosing this option prevents the establishment of a Martian calendar until some unknown point in the future. This deprives the Humans to Mars movement of an early opportunity to define a distinctive, emerging culture.

Source Documents:
Document Space Studies 200 Group Project
Ryan Kramer et al.

Position of Mars on establishing the first permanent base

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Pro

Con

The establishment of the first permanent base cannot be used as the first day of the year until the event occurs. Choosing this option prevents the establishment of a Martian calendar until some unknown point in the future. This deprives the Humans to Mars movement of an early opportunity to define a distinctive, emerging culture.


What number should begin the calendar count?

General

Year 0

Pro

The concept of zero did not exist in the western world when years began being counted according to the Common Era. A "year 0" simplifies calculation between a date prior to the epoch and a date after the epoch. Example: if you were born in the year -22 and it is now the year 13, you are 35 Martian years old. Also, centuries would begin with the years ending in "0" instead of "1" as they do on Earth. We could speak of the years 0 to 99 as the "zeroth century," 100 to 199 as the "first century," et cetera.

Con

This is inconsistent with usage on Earth.

Source Documents:
Document A Mars Proleptic Calendar and Sol-Date Timing Reference
Michael Allison
Document The Darian Defrost Calendar
Frans Blok
Document The Rotterdam Month and Weekday Naming System
Frans Blok
Document Waar blijft de tijd op Mars?
Frans Blok
Document Time Keeping on Mars
Alan Dechert
Document 600-Year Martian Calendar
Alan Dechert
Document Excerpts from Martian Rainbow
Robert L. Forward
Document The Darian System
Thomas Gangale
Document An Easily Understood Calendar and Time System for Mars
Leon G. Heron
Document Space Studies 200 Group Project
Ryan Kramer et al.
Document The Millennium Mars Calendar
James M. Graham and Kandis Elliot
Document Life on Mars - A Shareware Strategy Game
Innaky
Document The Utopian Calendar
Mars Time Group
Document The Areosynchronous Calendar
Shaun Moss
Document The Kepler Calendar
Shaun Moss
document Salvas Calendar System for Mars
Keith Salvas
Document Calendario en Marte
Miguel Angel Serra Martín
Document Mars Calendar
Miguel Angel Serra Martín
Document Martian Timekeeping
Anders Ström
Document A Mars Calendar
Richard Weidner
Document Options for Martian Timekeeping
William Woods

Year 1

Pro

Con

How much colder than 1° is -1°? Answer: 2°. Common sense would tell you that the year -1 and 1 are two years apart. However, in this system, they are only 1 year apart. If there is no year 0, the year -1 is followed by the year 1.

Source Documents:
Document A Thought for the Future
William H. Becker
Document Mars Calendar
Blort
Document Martian Timekeeping
Geoffrey Briggs and Howard Houben
Document Simplest Possible Mars Calendar Used in the Novel As It Is On Mars
Thomas W. Cronin
Document Excerpts from Mars Underground
William K. Hartmann
Document Further Thoughts on Vophicism
Mark Knoke
Document Towards a Better Martian Calendar
Mark Knoke
Document Zubrin's Mars Calendar
Peter Kokh
Document It's About Time
I. M. Levitt
Document Mars Clock and Calendar
I. M. Levitt
Document Martian Dreams Time System
Linda Naughton and Robert O'Meara
Document The QS Calendar
Jelmer Oosthoek
Document Excerpts from Red Mars
Kim Stanley Robinson
Document An Explanation of Zubrin's Mars Calendar
Paul J. Thomas
Document A Calendar for the Planet Mars
Robert Zubrin
Document A Calendar for Mars
Robert Zubrin

Year 1000

Pro

Most Martian calendars propose an epoch in the 20th or 21st centuries, with the epochal year being assigned the value of either 0 or 1. The problem is that events before the epoch have dates with negative years. Assigning 1000 to the epochal year, any event in Martian history can be expressed as a positive (non-negative) date.

Con

Year 1976

This idea was proposed so that the Gregorian year 1976 and Martian year 1976 occurred simultaneously.

Pro

Any event in Martian history can be expressed as a positive (non-negative) date.

Con

The Gregorian year and Martian year counts diverge from the epoch, since the Martian year is nearly twice as long.

Source Documents:
Document Mars Time
Elysium Mars