Mars vs Earth – Gravity, Day, Year and Temperature Compared
How does Mars compare with Earth? A quick side-by-side of gravity, day length, year length, temperature, atmosphere and size.
Mars is the most Earth-like planet we can realistically explore, but the differences are huge. Here are the essentials side by side.
| Mars | Earth | |
|---|---|---|
| Diameter | about 6,780 km | 12,742 km |
| Gravity | 38% of Earth's | 100% |
| Day | 24 h 39 min (a sol) | 24 h |
| Year | 687 Earth days | 365 days |
| Average temperature | about −60 °C | about +15 °C |
| Atmosphere | mostly CO₂, under 1% of Earth's pressure | nitrogen and oxygen |
| Moons | 2 small ones, Phobos and Deimos | 1 |
| Distance from the Sun | about 1.5 times Earth's | 150 million km |
What it would feel like
- Lighter steps. At 38% gravity, a person who weighs 80 kg on Earth would feel like about 30 kg. You could jump almost three times as high.
- Familiar days. A sol is only 40 minutes longer than an Earth day, so your body clock would cope.
- Long seasons. Every season lasts about twice as long as on Earth.
- No breathing outside. The air is too thin and has almost no oxygen. Any time outdoors needs a pressure suit.
Try it in Trawers
In Trawers you can switch from the rover to an astronaut and walk on real Martian terrain, or take a shuttle and fly over the planet. See how the distances compare with a walk at home.
See it at real scaleTrawers is a free 3D browser game on the real Mars.
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