Planet Mars Images: July 9-10, 2023 | NASA's Perseverance Rover | JPL

Planet Mars Images: July 9-10, 2023 | NASA's Perseverance Rover | JPL

Mars2020 - sol 654

Mars2020 - sol 848

Mars2020 - sol 847

Mars2020 - sol 846

Mars2020 - sol 843

Mars2020 - sol 847

Timekeeping on Mars

Sol (borrowed from the Latin word for sun) is a solar day on Mars; that is, a Mars-day. A sol is the apparent interval between two successive returns of the Sun to the same meridian (sundial time) as seen by an observer on Mars. It is one of several units for timekeeping on Mars.

A sol is slightly longer than an Earth day. It is approximately 24 hours, 39 minutes, 35 seconds long. A Martian year is approximately 668 sols, equivalent to approximately 687 Earth days or 1.88 Earth years.

NASA's Mars Curiosity and Perseverance rovers all counted the sol of touchdown as "Sol 0."

2+ Years on Mars (2021-2023)

Mission Name: Mars 2020

Rover Name: Perseverance

Main Job: Seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith (broken rock and soil) for possible return to Earth.

Mars Helicopter (Ingenuity)

Launch: July 30, 2020    

Landing: Feb. 18, 2021, Jezero Crater, Mars

For more information on NASA's Mars missions, visit: mars.nasa.gov

Image Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University/Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS)

Image Processing: Kevin M. Gill

Image Release Dates: July 9-July 10, 2023

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