Here’s What It Would Really Be like to Spend a Day on Mars

Your journey was long. Literally. The average distance between Earth and Mars is about 140 million miles (225 million km). Assuming your spacecraft departed at the ideal time (when the planets are at their closest), it probably took you about seven months to reach your destination. 

But perhaps you prefer more traditional modes of travel? If you decide to drive, add about 66 years to your travel time. Or maybe you’re lucky and can travel at the speed of light? If so, then you’re only looking at about a 12-minute trip. 

But you probably aren’t lucky. Humans are a very long way from developing light-speed travel. And since we’re still on the travel topic, most cars have a lifespan of just 200,000 miles. So, you likely used a spacecraft.

Assuming you hitched a ride on a NASA rocket, the launch alone cost you about $4.1 billion (yes, billion). And that doesn’t include necessary items like food, water, or medical supplies. So, let’s hope you're independently wealthy (or maybe you’re super good friends with Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos?). 

Regardless, the living quarters were horrendously small. And now that you’ve finally arrived, you’re ready to stretch your legs.

You take the first step onto the Red Planet, and everything looks, well, pretty much the same. Wherever you look, you see an endless expanse of reddish monochrome rocks, thanks to the iron oxide in the soil. 

But fear not. Mars may be a barren wasteland; however, it’s also home to some of the solar system's largest mountains and canyons. So you’re going to have a packed itinerary, which will make for a relatively long day — but not much longer than what you’d have on Earth. After all, a day on the Red Planet is about 24 hours and 37 minutes. 

Time to make those extra minutes worth it.

9 am: Check the weather and dress accordingly

After enjoying your Martian breakfast of champions, it’s time to suit up.

Your spacesuit will let you face the unique (and super deadly) conditions found on the Red Planet. For example, the suit has extra layers of insulation to keep you warm and cozy. Without them, you’d freeze to death at a rather alarming rate.

Temperatures on Mars range from a rather refreshing 70°F (20°C) to a pretty lethal -225°F (-153°C). Although there is some hope of favorable weather during your visit, the average temperature on Mars is about -85°F (-65°C). So it would be best to wear your suit — better safe than sorry.

Also, the Martian atmosphere is less than ideal for humans. Without your suit, you’ll asphyxiate pretty fast. 

Earth's atmosphere is dominated by nitrogen (78 percent) and oxygen (21 percent). Mars offers a different — and much more inhospitable — cocktail. Its atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide (95 percent), with minor amounts of nitrogen (3 percent) and argon (1.6 percent). Oh, and a hefty dose of airborne dust. 

To make matters worse, Mars has no magnetic field or ozone layer, so there’s nothing to block the Sun’s blistering radiation. During your mission, you may receive a radiation dose up to 700 times higher than on Earth, so be sure to pack a lot of sunscreen in your suit.

Finally, Mars is basically the ultimate high-altitude hike, thanks to its low atmospheric pressure. On Earth, the standard air pressure at sea level is 1,013 millibars. But on Mars, it fluctuates seasonally, averaging a meager six to seven millibars. That's less than one percent of Earth's sea-level pressure. To encounter such thin air on Earth, you'd have to ascend about 28 miles (45 km) into the sky. 

So, even if you’re just planning a short stroll, you’ll want to wear your spacesuit. 

Luckily, your suit is nimble enough for you to scale Martian mountains and strong enough to keep you safe from the dangers of the alien atmosphere. And when you put it on, you’ll probably feel like a superhero…unless you’re claustrophobic. But in time, you’ll get used to it. Probably.

10 am: Hellas Impact Basin

At 1,429 miles (2,300 km) wide and more than 3.4 miles (7 km) deep, Hellas is one of the largest impact craters in our solar system and the deepest spot on the Red Planet. For comparison, the Grand Canyon is just 1 mile (1.6 km) deep. 

Hellas is also incredibly old. The ancient basin was likely formed by a colossal asteroid impact some 4 billion years ago. Over time, it’s been weathered by wind, ice, water, and volcanic activity.

In fact, scientists think ice and water might still be weathering the basin's rim. That’s right. There’s a chance the ground here is rich with H2O, so you might find Martian life on your visit!

The best location for your search will likely be craters in the regio. Radar images from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter indicate that some craters in Hellas might contain thick glaciers buried under layers and layers of dust.

You know what that means? It’s time to get digging. This is the perfect spot to drill into the planet’s crust and unlock its secrets.

But be sure to pace yourself. In the deepest parts of the basin, the atmospheric pressure is about 89 percent higher than at the surface, and changes in barometric pressure can be a bit debilitating (to put it mildly).

1 pm: Valles Marineris

Now, it’s time to turn to the west and explore another area that touches the planet's depths. 

Valles Marineris is a vast canyon system that makes Earth’s Grand Canyon look like a ditch. Also known as Mariner Valley, it runs along much of the Martian equator. It’s more than 2,500 miles (4,000 km) long, 370 miles (600 km) wide, and 4 miles (7 km) deep. That’s five times the length of the Grand Canyon and so wide that you won’t be able to see the other side. 

In total, the Martian canyon spans 20 percent of the Red Planet. 

How Valles Marineris became this massive is a bit of a mystery. But most scientists agree that it likely started as a surface crack billions of years ago, which formed as the planet cooled. It was further affected by the rising crust in the Tharsis volcanic region and subsequently widened by erosion — likely caused by intermittent landslides, lava flows, glaciers, and rivers.

Thanks to all of this activity, the canyon is teeming with spectacular geology — deep gullies in the walls, ancient river channels, and scarred “ghost dunes.” Those are just some of the remarkable things you’ll encounter as you explore the canyon.

4 pm: The Gale Crater 

Your day has been pretty eventful. So, don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re feeling parched and in serious need of some cooling down. When that happens, Gale Crater is the place to go. 

Here, you’ll find a whopping ten water molecules for every million air molecules. While that may seem insignificant, you should remember that you are on Mars. Thousands of water molecules are a luxury we just don’t have (at least, not anymore). 

As an added bonus, in 2012, the Curiosity Rover landed on Mars and discovered complex organic molecules inside three billion-year-old rocks in the Gale Crater. When we rounded up all the evidence, all signs pointed to Gale Crater being a place where life could have survived for millions of years.

However, we don’t have enough evidence to determine the source of the organic molecules just yet. We’ll only know when we drill deeper. So take a sample or two… hundred (getting to Mars was very expensive, after all. We need to maximize your time there).

 Oh, and speaking of time!

7 pm: Olympus Mons 

You can’t miss the Martian sunset. Despite being the “Red Planet,” sunsets actually look blue due to the fine dust in the atmosphere, which filters colors with longer wavelengths. To get the best view of this unique feature, you may want to summit Olympus Mons. 

At nearly 16 miles (25 km) high, Olympus Mons is almost three times taller than Mt. Everest. In fact, it’s the tallest mountain in our solar system. It lives in the Tharsis Montes region, the largest volcanic region on Mars. If its height wasn’t intimidating enough, scientists think that the volcano was so powerful at one point that it fired giant lava bombs into space. And it’s not entirely clear whether or not the volcano is still active today.

But don’t let the big (maybe still active) volcano scare you. Scaling Olympus Mons will be a breeze. You have two things working for you. The average slope of the volcano is just five percent. And the gravity on Mars is only 38 percent of the gravity you’d experience on Earth at sea level. So, a 100-pound (45 kg) person on Earth would only weigh about 38 pounds (17 kilograms) on Mars. 

Things are looking up, aren’t they? 

But here’s a little tip. If you want to make it to a high point in time for the sunset, it’s probably best to hitch a ride on your planetary rover, as hiking 16 miles in this spacesuit will take a long time. Once you get to the top, enjoy the sapphire delight that offers a kind of peace and beauty that makes you forget, just for a moment, that you're millions of miles from home.