The temperature on Mars

[Ed]

I'm working on this story of mine that's set on Mars, and I'm wondering what the temperature would be in an unheated corridor that runs between biodomes on the surface. I'm guessing it would be somewhere around absolute zero, unless I can rely on a bit of solar gain, or something.

And if it is absolute zero, people wouldn't be able to survive it for more than a few seconds, would they? They'd freeze almost instantly without the protection of a space suit. Is that right, or not?

[desertwomble]

As I recall from university studies, the temperature on Mars, much like on Earth, varies greatly - minus a hundred and something at the poles in mid-winter, to plus twenty or so at the equator at mid-summer.

DW

By the way, I bet Gadaffi ends up in Zimbabwe!

[Pharosian]

From NASA (http://quest.nasa.gov/aero/planetary/mars.html):

The temperature on Mars may reach a high of about 70 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius) at noon, at the equator in the summer, or a low of about -225 degrees Fahrenheit (-153 degrees Celsius) at the poles. Obviously this is very inhospitable for humans, but it is also of some concern for the electronics and mechanical parts of a Mars airplane and its instrumentation. In the mid-latitudes, the average temperature would be about -50 degrees Celsius with a nighttime minimum of -60 degrees Celsius and a summer midday maximum of about 0 degrees Celsius.

So, depending on where your biodomes are located and the time of day, it might be downright pleasant in the corridor. Or at least survivable for more than a few minutes.

[Ed]

Thanks, you two

There's also that whole thing about swelling up like an inflated balloon when a person goes from a pressurised atmosphere into a vacuum, like in Total Recall. Are we sure that doesn't happen?

[delboy]

http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/970603.html

Great 'last memory' of the astronaut who had this happen to him in training.

Derek

[Ed]

Good link, Del -- thanks for that Slightly disappointing that people don't explode, though

[desertwomble]

Good link, Del -- thanks for that Slightly disappointing that people don't explode, though

Don't let the facts get in the way of a good story!

DW