How long does it take people to walk around Mars?

Humans have been able to walk around the Earth. What about Mars, how long will that journey take ?

Mars has long been an ambitious destination for humans. NASA has plans to send astronauts to the Red Planet within the next few decades. Thus, it is only a matter of time before humans can set foot on, or even walk around, Mars .

The Red Planet has extremely rugged terrain, including valleys, craters and many different and unpredictable geological features. These will be challenges for astronauts on their journey. (Photo: Getty).

GS. Erdal Yigit, an expert in physics and astronomy at George Mason University, said: "When talking about walking around Mars, we need two parameters. Those are the speed and the distance traveled. astronaut ".

It is estimated that if a person walked along the equator of Mars, they would walk about 21,400km to complete one lap around the planet. Meanwhile, going around the poles of Mars will only take about 160km. But according to Professor. Yigit, the extreme cold here will be a big challenge.

In terms of speed, a person can reach an average of 5km/h. This is also the average walking speed on Earth, if calculated along the equator.

The reason for this number is because although Mars' gravity is about 40% lower than Earth's, in return we will have to carry a heavy space suit, along with many important supplies. other important things like oxygen, water, food.

Thus, if someone walked continuously around Mars at the above speed, the calculation would be very simple: Just divide the distance by the speed. That's about 4,290 hours.

On average, a Martian day is about 24.7 hours (called sols), so it would take about 174 sols to walk continuously around Mars . That's a period equivalent to a quarter of a Martian year, or 668.6 sols.

It would take 668.6 sols to go around Mars. But that calculation does not include other factors. (Photo: internet).

Of course, no one can complete that trip continuously, whether on Mars, Earth or anywhere else.

Even if the person can carry enough oxygen, water, food. as well as have the ability to eat and drink while walking, they still need to stop to rest and sleep.

Assuming the astronaut sleeps about 8 hours per night, the journey will add about 56 sols.

If one stops for 4 - 5 hours per sol to eat, rest, change clothes, shower, arrange and clean the campsite. it will take another 30 - 35 sols, depending on the time that they stopped.

Based on those parameters, a more realistic estimate for a circumnavigation of Mars is about 265 sols , or 40% of a Martian year.

However, this calculation does not take into account potential obstacles, such as rough terrain. Mars has many mountains. Among them, there are some mountains that are higher than any other mountain on Earth.

Not only that, the Red Planet also has extremely dangerous terrain, including valleys, craters and many different and unpredictable geological features.

Although this will be an extremely difficult journey, according to Professor. Yigit, sending humans to Mars instead of exploration machines is extremely necessary.

That's because we have the ability to manage to find a solution if something goes wrong. This will be an important factor, if not a prerequisite, in the journey to explore Mars, as well as other planets in the Solar System.