The temperature on Mars is much colder than on Earth. But then, the planet is also farther from the sun. The small, barren planet also has a thin atmosphere that is 95 percent carbon dioxide.
Earth - 59°F (15°C) Mars - Minus 85°F (-65°C)
On Earth, much of the sun's heat gets trapped in our atmosphere, which acts like a blanket to keep our planet warm. But Mars' atmosphere is about 100 times thinner than Earth's -- so heat from the sun can easily escape.
Mariner 4, which flew by Mars on July 14, 1965, found that Mars has an atmospheric pressure of only 1 to 2 percent of the Earth's. Temperatures on Mars average about -81 degrees F. However, temperatures range from around -220 degrees F. in the wintertime at the poles, to +70 degrees F.
While the two planets have changing seasons in common, the climate on Mars is colder, drier and harsher than any place on Earth. Earth's average temperature is 14°C, but the average temperature on Mars is a chilly -63°C.
The answer is yes—but not easily. There are many challenging obstacles in the way. Getting to and from Mars, surviving the harsh environment, and producing food, water, and fuel are the main challenges. Even though this sounds insurmountable, scientists are optimistic.
We could also artificially introduce heat-trapping gases that are superior to carbon dioxide, like chlorofluorocarbons. These gases are short-lived, though, so the process would need to be repeated on a large scale to keep Mars warm. Another idea is to import gases by redirecting comets and asteroids to hit Mars.
For example, like Earth, Mars has seasons, meaning seasonal changes in its atmosphere and weather. But the Martian atmosphere is much thinner than Earth's, meaning atmospheric pressure is so low that the blood of any unprotected visitor would boil.
Oxygen makes up one-fifth of the air we breathe, but it's the most vital component – and it does seem to be declining. The main cause is the burning of fossil fuels, which consumes free oxygen. Fortunately, the atmosphere contains so much oxygen that we're in no danger of running out soon.
Mars does have an atmosphere, but it is about 100 times thinner than Earth's atmosphere and it has very little oxygen. The atmosphere on Mars is made up of mainly carbon dioxide. An astronaut on Mars would not be able to breathe the Martian air and would need a spacesuit with oxygen to work outdoors.
Venus is not the hottest planet in the universe. The hottest known planet is KELT-9b, which has a surface temperature of 7,800 degrees Fahrenheit, or 4,300 degrees Celsius, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology. It is 670 light-years from Earth.
2. Mercury: The average temperature of Mercury is 167 degree Celsius. It is the first nearest planet from the Sun and the second hottest planet in the solar system.
An atmospheric daytime high might be -3° Celsius (26° Fahrenheit), while a nighttime low might be -96° Celsius (-140° Fahrenheit).
Uranus holds the record for the coldest temperature ever measured in the Solar System: a very chilly -224℃. The temperature on Neptune is still very cold, of course – usually around -214℃ – but Uranus beats that. The reason why Uranus is so cold is nothing to do with its distance from the Sun.
The Earth zips around the Sun at about 67,000 miles per hour, making a full revolution in about 365 days - one year on Earth. Mars is a little slower, and farther from the sun, so a full circuit takes 687 Earth days - or one Mars year. That longer year means longer seasons too.
So it might appear that our planet may one day run out of water. Fortunately, that is not the case. Earth contains huge quantities of water in its oceans, lakes, rivers, the atmosphere, and believe it or not, in the rocks of the inner Earth.
The high concentration of oxygen can help to provide enough oxygen for all of the organs in the body. Unfortunately, breathing 100% oxygen for long periods of time can cause changes in the lungs, which are potentially harmful.
In reality, the world won't run out of water. Water does not leave Earth, nor does it come from space. The amount of water the world has is the same amount of water we've always had. However, we could run out of usable water, or at least see a drop to very low reserves.
We know that fire can only burn naturally on our planet, and Mars doesn't have a dense atmosphere or enough oxygen to allow flames to burn – but space station and spacecraft fires are a very real danger, and with crews living and working in close proximity, fire would be disastrous.
Toxicity. Martian soil is toxic, due to relatively high concentrations of perchlorate compounds containing chlorine. Elemental chlorine was first discovered during localised investigations by Mars rover Sojourner, and has been confirmed by Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity.
In space we can assume that there would be no external organisms such as insects and fungi to break down the body, but we still carry plenty of bacteria with us. Left unchecked, these would rapidly multiply and cause putrefaction of a corpse on board the shuttle or the ISS.
It's freezing. Mars has an average temperature of -81 degrees Fahrenheit. That doesn't even account for how low temps can plunge in winter—up to -225 degrees Fahrenheit. Though the first astronauts on Mars probably won't venture anywhere near the poles, conditions like this are going to require humans to toughen up.
Elon Musk explained that we could terraform Mars by exploding nuclear bombs over its polar caps. He had said that the radiation wouldn't be an issue since the explosion would be in space over the poles, but the heat release would vaporize the frozen carbon dioxide to greenhouse warm the planet and melt the water ice.
Freezing temperature
On average, the temperature plunges to about minus 80 degrees F (minus 62 degrees C). "This is something that would kill you over the course of hours if you are not properly warmed," Lee said.