Martian Time
"What day is it? Do days exist without calendars? Does time pass when there are no human hands left to wind the clocks?"
     -- Howard Koch, Invasion from Mars, the 1938 radio play based on H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds

Mars Fact Sheet


SI Units


English Units


Earth Comparisons

Earth

Mars

Moon

Mass (1024 lbs) 13.172 1.6202 0.14153
Equatorial radius (mi) 3,963 2,108 1,080
Polar radius (mi) 3,950 2,096 1,078
Mean density (lbs/ft3) 643.4 458.4 389.2
Surface gravity (ft/sec2) 32.09 12.1 5.3
Escape velocity (mi/sec) 6.951 3.13 1.48

Semimajor axis (106 mi) 92.9 141.6 0.2389
Periapsis (106 mi) from Sun: 91.4 from Sun: 128.4 from Earth: 0.2258
Apoapsis (106 mi) from Sun: 94.5 from Sun: 154.9 from Earth: 0.2520
Orbital eccentricity 0.0167 0.0934 0.0549
Orbital inclination (deg) 0 1.85 5.145
Equatorial inclination (deg) 23.44 25.19 6.68
Sidereal day (hrs:min:sec) 23:56:04.2 24.37:22.4 655:19
Solar day (hrs:min:sec) 24:00:00 24.39:35.2 708:44:03

Days Days Sols Lunations
Seasons       ---
     Spring 92.764 198.61 193.30  
     Summer 93.647 183.55 178.64  
     Autumn 89.836 146.62 142.70  
     Winter 88.997 158.18 153.95  
Anomalistic year 365.2596 686.9957 668.6146 12.3689
Sidereal year 365.2564 686.9797 668.5991 12.3687
Vernal equinox year 365.2424 686.9710 668.5906 12.3683
Summer solstice year 365.2416 686.9683 668.5880 12.3682
Autumnal equinox year 365.2420 686.9745 668.5940 12.3683
Winter solstice year 365.2427 686.9763 668.5958 12.3683
Tropical year 365.2422 686.9725 668.5921 12.3683
Synodic period --- 779.94 759.07 29.53

Mean surface temperature (°F) 59 ~ -81 ~ -42
Diurnal temperature range (°F) 50 - 68 -128 - -24 -315 - 232
Mean surface pressure (lbs/in2) 14.7 -.10 - 0.13 0
Scale height (mi) 5.3 6.9 ---
Atmospheric composition (%) 75.5 Nitrogen
23.1 Oxygen
1.3 Argon
0.03 Carbon Dioxide
95.3 Carbon Dioxide
2.7 Nitrogen
1.6 Argon
0.13 Oxygen
0.08 Carbon Monoxide
---
Wind speeds (mi/hr) 0 - 225 4- 16(summer)
11- 22 (autumn)
38 - 67(dust storm)
---

Martian Satellites

San Francisco

Phobos

Deimos

Discovered 1877 1877
Location Mars Orbit Mars Orbit
Mass (1015 lbs) 23.8 4.0
Major axis radius (mi) 8 5
Minor axis radius (mi) 6 3
Mean density (lbs/ft3) 221 204

Semimajor axis (mi) 5,827 14,563
Orbital eccentricity 0.0151 0.00033
Orbital inclination (deg) 1.08 1.79
Sidereal period (hr:min:sec) 7:39:14 30:17:55

Martian Trojans

 

Provisional designation:
1999 UJ7

5261 Eureka

Provisional designation:
1998 VF31
Provisional designation:
2001 DH47
Provisional designation:
2001 FG24
Provisional designation:
2001 FR127
Discovered 1999 1990 1998 2001 2001 2001
Location (deg) L4 301.4 290.9 L5 L5 L5
Radius (mi)   0.6-1.2 0.3-0.6      

Semimajor axis (x 106 mi) 141.6 141.5 141.6 141.2 141.0 141.5
Perihehion (x 106 mi) 136.1 132.4 127.4 136.4 122.5 125.8
Aphelion (x 106 mi) 147.2 150.7 155.8 146.0 159.5 157.2
Orbital eccentricity 0.039 0.0607 0.1005 0.034 0.131 0.111
Orbital inclination (deg) 16.8 20.2802 31.2966 24.2 19.2 28.5

Once and Future Martian Trojans

 

Provisional designation:
1998 QH56
Provisional designation:
1998 SD4
Discovered 1998 1998
Location (deg) 258.5 245.5
Radius (mi) 0.3-0.5 0.15-0.4

Semimajor axis (x 106 mi) 144.1 140.7
Perihelion (x 106 mi) 139.6 123.1
Aphelion (x 106 mi) 148.5 158.4
Orbital eccentricity 0.0307 0.1254
Orbital inclination (deg) 32.2222 13.6725
Source: Serge Tabachnik and N. Wyn Evans, "Cartography for Martian Trojans."

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