Time feels different when you aren't on Earth.
If you’re sitting in an office in New York or a cafe in London, a year is a predictable 365 days. It’s the time it takes for our blue marble to make one lap around the Sun. But if you were standing on the dusty, oxidized plains of the Red Planet, your birthday would come around much less often. How long is 1 year on Mars? Basically, it's about 687 Earth days.
That’s nearly double.
Imagine waiting two of our years just to celebrate one of theirs. It sounds like a simple trivia fact, but for NASA engineers and the folks at SpaceX, this number is a logistical nightmare. It dictates when we can launch rockets, how much food astronauts need to pack, and even how the human body might physically age in a different gravitational well.
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The Math Behind the Martian Year
The reason for this discrepancy is simple physics. Mars is further away from the Sun than we are. Because it sits at a greater distance—about 142 million miles on average compared to our 93 million—its orbital path is much longer.
Gravity plays a role here too. Since Mars is further out, the Sun’s gravitational pull is weaker, meaning the planet moves slower in its orbit. Earth zips along at about 67,000 miles per hour. Mars moseys at roughly 53,000 miles per hour.
Slow speed plus a long path equals a very long year.
To be precise, a Martian year is 686.98 Earth days. If you want to get technical, that breaks down to 1.88 Earth years. But astronomers don't usually use Earth days to measure time on Mars because the planet has its own day-night cycle. They call a Martian day a Sol.
A Sol is just a bit longer than an Earth day—24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35 seconds. Because the days are slightly longer, a Martian year contains about 668 Sols.
Why Seasons on Mars Are Totally Weird
On Earth, our seasons are roughly equal in length. Each lasts about three months. This is because Earth’s orbit is nearly a perfect circle. Mars is different. It has what scientists call a highly eccentric orbit.
It’s elliptical. Kinda egg-shaped.
Because the orbit is stretched out, Mars’ distance from the Sun changes significantly throughout its year. This makes the seasons wonky. In the northern hemisphere, spring lasts for 194 Sols. Autumn? Only 142 Sols.
When Mars is closest to the Sun (perihelion), it moves fastest. When it’s furthest away (aphelion), it slows down. This creates massive temperature swings that would make a Chicago winter look like a tropical vacation. During the Martian summer, the planet can get hit by global dust storms. These aren't just little "dust devils." We're talking about storms that wrap around the entire planet and block out the sun for weeks.
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The Opportunity rover actually "died" because of one of these storms in 2018. The dust was so thick that the rover’s solar panels couldn't charge, and the machine basically froze to death in the dark.
The "Launch Window" Headache
You can't just fly to Mars whenever you want. You have to wait for the planets to align.
Because of the difference in orbital speeds, Earth and Mars only get close to each other once every 26 months. This is what NASA calls "Opposition." It’s the sweet spot. If you miss that window, you have to wait another two Earth years before the trip becomes fuel-efficient again.
This is why you often see several countries launching Mars missions at the same time. In 2020, the United States, China, and the United Arab Emirates all launched missions within weeks of each other. They were all racing to catch that same narrow orbital window.
If we ever send humans there, this 26-month cycle becomes a life-or-death calculation. If a crew arrives and realizes they forgot a critical spare part, they can't just call for a resupply. They are stuck there until the planets realign.
Aging and the Martian Calendar
Would you live longer on Mars? Well, chronologically, no. Biologically, your cells age at the same rate regardless of which rock you’re standing on. But your "Mars age" would be much lower.
If you are 30 years old on Earth, you are only about 16 in Martian years.
Honestly, the psychological impact of this is something psychologists are genuinely worried about. Humans are evolved for 24-hour cycles and 365-day years. Living on a planet where the sun sets at a different time and the seasons last for ages could seriously mess with a person's circadian rhythm and mental health.
The Practical Reality for Future Colonists
We have to think about food. If you're farming in a pressurized greenhouse on the Martian surface, you are dealing with a growing season that is nearly twice as long as Earth's. But you also have to deal with those long, dark winters where solar power is scarce.
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Then there's the radiation.
Mars doesn't have a global magnetic field like Earth does. Because the Martian year is so long, anyone living there is exposed to high-energy cosmic rays and solar flares for extended periods. Over the course of one Martian year, an astronaut would receive a radiation dose significantly higher than what is allowed for nuclear power plant workers on Earth.
Scientists like Dr. Robert Zubrin, who wrote The Case for Mars, argue that we can overcome these hurdles using local resources (In-Situ Resource Utilization). But even the most optimistic plans have to account for the fact that how long is 1 year on Mars dictates everything from energy storage to bone density loss.
Making the Adjustment
If you're planning on being a Martian pioneer, here is what you need to keep in mind regarding the calendar:
- Track the Sols, not the Days: Your internal clock will need to adjust to an extra 40 minutes of sleep (or work) every single day. Over a week, that's nearly five hours of "extra" time compared to Earth.
- Prepare for the Long Haul: Any mission to Mars is a multi-year commitment. A "short" stay is still going to last roughly 21 months of Earth time due to the orbital mechanics of getting back home.
- Watch the Dust: Seasonal changes on Mars are violent. The transition into the southern summer is prime time for planet-wide dust storms. If you're relying on solar power, you need massive battery backups to survive the months of darkness.
- Redefine Milestones: We measure life by years. Anniversaries, birthdays, and fiscal quarters would all need a complete overhaul to function in a society that lives by a 687-day clock.
The Red Planet isn't just a different place; it’s a different pace of life entirely. Understanding the Martian year isn't just for astronomers anymore—it's the first step in becoming a multi-planetary species.