Knowing the time is useful for all kinds of things, and now, physicists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have finally figured out what time it is on Mars. Beyond the need to satisfy our cosmic curiosity, knowing the precise time at other locales in our galaxy is a navigational necessity for future travelers to places like the Red Planet just as it was to Earth’s early ship-bound explorers in bygone eras.
“What time is it on Mars?” is a deceptively tricky question to answer. The Martian day is slightly longer than Earth’s (around 40 minutes), and its year is almos