On Mars, it might be warm underfoot but freezing overhead, according to NASA
Despite Mars’s extremely cold climate, the planet’s surface can warm up to +24°C during the day near the equator. At the same time, the air temperature at human height remains below zero due to the extremely thin atmosphere.
NASA explains this phenomenon with a simple example: if you place one thermometer on the sun-warmed ground and raise another about two meters above it, they will show completely different temperatures.
Experts call this effect “spring at your feet and winter above your head.” The reason is that Mars’ atmosphere is so thin that it barely transfers heat between the surface and the air.
For comparison, atmospheric pressure near the surface of Mars is less than 1% of Earth’s sea-level pressure. Although the planet’s atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide, its density is insufficient for effective heat transfer.
It is precisely because of this extremely thin atmosphere that the Ingenuity helicopter had to spin its rotors at very high speeds to stay airborne.
In addition, the experimental MOXIE instrument used a special pump to draw in a sufficient amount of carbon dioxide, from which it produced oxygen.
The Perseverance rover, using the MEDA (Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer) instrument, regularly measures soil and air temperatures in Jezero Crater.
Typical observations showed that:
- the surface warmed from -83°C before dawn to +5°C during the day;
- the air temperature during the same period ranged from -83°C to -23°C.
A study published in 2023 showed that the main temperature gradient occurs within the first 1.45 meters above the surface, and during the day, the difference can reach approximately 26°C per meter of altitude.
Similar results were previously obtained by the Curiosity rover in Gale Crater. There, the soil temperature ranged from +3°C to -91°C, while the air temperature ranged from -2°C to -75°C.
Despite localized surface heating, conditions on Mars remain deadly for humans.
Scientists emphasize that the planet has:
- extremely low atmospheric pressure;
- an almost complete lack of oxygen;
- high levels of ultraviolet and ionizing radiation.
In addition, after sunset, the soil loses its accumulated heat very quickly, since the thin atmosphere is practically unable to retain it.
This was reported by Space Daily, citing data from NASA.
In addition, a photograph of Mars taken by NASA’s Spirit rover back in 2007 is once again gaining popularity online. Users have noticed a dark silhouette that resembles a person walking across the surface of the Red Planet.
Recently, NASA’s Curiosity rover transmitted new images from Mars that have impressed scientists with their unusual geological structures. While exploring the “Valle Grande” valley, the rover documented the largest known cluster of polygonal faults, which had not previously been observed on the Red Planet on such a scale.
Earlier, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express orbiter sent back new photographs of the Martian surface showing “metallic” waves inside the massive Kaiser Crater.
Scientists have previously noted that our planet differs from others in the Solar System. This applies not only to the gas giants but also to the rocky celestial bodies neighboring us. For example, just like on Earth, solar eclipses occur on Mars.
And a group of scientists from the University of Warwick, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Microgravity Center in Germany, has achieved a breakthrough in the creation of light-driven energy, which could be the key to the future colonization of Mars.
By the end of the decade, NASA plans to establish a lunar outpost on Mars. This must be accomplished before humans begin exploring the planet.
