Question

How long is a year on Mars? 89 Earth days, 201 Earth days, 432 Earth days, 687 Earth days

a) 89 Earth days
b) 201 Earth days
c) 432 Earth days
d) 687 Earth days

Answer 1

A year on Mars is 687 Earth days long, which closely matches the duration of 686.98 Earth days. The Martian day, or sol, is about 1.026 Earth days. A solar calendar is preferred for tracking Martian seasons over a lunar calendar.

Step-by-step explanation:

The length of a year on Mars is 687 Earth days. So, the correct option is d) 687 Earth days. A Martian year lasts approximately 686.98 Earth days, which is nearly equivalent to 687 of our Earth days. The length of a day on Mars, also referred to as a sol, is slightly longer than an Earth day, being about 1.026 Earth days in length. When considering the creation of a Martian calendar, one might lean towards a solar calendar to better track the Martian seasons, as the Martian moons, Phobos and Deimos, have very short orbital periods that do not align neatly with the length of the seasons on Mars.