Temperature on the Surface of Mars
An educational, fair use website
| Bibliographic Entry | Result (w/surrounding text) |
Standardized Result |
|---|---|---|
| Solar System Exploration: Bodies: Mars. NASA. | "Mean Temperature at Solid Surface 186 to 268 K" | 186–268 K |
| Mars. 15th Edition. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Copyright, 1997. | "Its surface atmospheric temperature is only -23 °C (−9.4 °F)" | 250 K |
| Williams, David R. Mars Fact Sheet. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 12 October 1999. | "Average temperature: ~210 K" | 210 K |
| Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. 9th Edition. CRC Press, 1986: 14-3 | "218 K (−55 °C)" | 218 K |
| Mars Introduction. Solar Views. | "The average recorded temperature on Mars is -63 °C (−81 °F) with a maximum temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) and a minimum of −140 °C (−220 °F)." | 210 K (mean) 130–250 K (range) |
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. Since ancient times Mars has been an object of great interest to astronomers. The temperature at the planet's surface varies widely during the course of a Martian day, from about 186 K (−87 °C) just before dawn to about 253 K (−20 °C) in the afternoon.
Mars is about half the size of earth. Its atmosphere is composed mostly of carbon dioxide and is very thin, exerting about 1/100 the surface pressure that the earth's atmosphere exerts. At the center of the planet is probably a small iron or iron sulfide core. If Mars has a magnetic field, it is so weak that no instrument has been able to detect it.
The planet has the largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons. At a height of 17 miles (27 kilometers), the volcano is three times higher than earth's Mount Everest and covers an area the size of the state of Arizona.
Albert Eydelman -- 2001
| Bibliographic Entry | Result (w/surrounding text) |
Standardized Result |
|---|---|---|
| Mars Exploration Rover Landings Press Kit [pdf]. NASA. January 2004. | "Near-surface atmospheric temperature at landing site: −100 C (−148 F) to 0 C (32 F)" | −100 to 0 °C |
| Tillman, James E.; N.C. Johnson; and G.F. LeCompte. Mars Pathfinder Temperature Data: Entire MPF Mission. University of Washington. | [large data table spanning 78 sols (martian days) with readings taken at three different heights above the surface: 1 m, 0.5 m, and 0.25 m] | −80 to 0 °C (range) −43 °C (mean) |
| Tillman, James E.; N.C. Johnson; and G.F. LeCompte. Mars Viking Lander 1 Temperature Data: Entire MPF Mission. University of Washington. | [large data table spanning 78 sols (martian days) with readings taken at 1.6 m] | −91 to −17 °C (range) −59 °C (mean) |
| [Mars] Lower Atmosphere. Windows to the Universe. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR). 1998. | "Surface temperatures range from −113 °C at the winter pole to 0 °C on the dayside during summer." | −113 to 0 °C |
Editor's Supplement -- 2004