Atmosphere

The Martian atmosphere is an extremely thin sheet of gas, principally carbon dioxide, that extends from the surface of Mars to the edge of space. The Martian atmosphere is less dense than the Earth's atmosphere, but there are many similarities. Gravity holds the atmosphere to the Martian surface. Within the atmosphere, very complex chemical,thermodynamic, and fluid dynamics effects occur. The atmosphere is not uniform; fluid properties are constantly changing with time and place, producing weather on Mars just like on Earth.

The atmosphere of Mars 0.7% as dense as Earth's is about 100 times thinner than Earth's, 95.32 percent carbon dioxide, 2.7 percent Nitrogen, argon 1.89%, and trace quantities of water, oxygen 0.146%, and carbon-monoxide 0.0557%.

Unlike space you maybe just about hear someone scream if near enough.

Sound travels shorter distances on Mars than it does on Earth. Sound dies quickly in the cold, thin air of Mars. Researchers have modeled a sound wave traveling through the Martian atmosphere and report that it doesn't go far, even a lawn mower's roar dies after a hundred meters or so

Tech Box

Pressure and density of the atmosphere average 700 Pa and .015 kg/m3 respectively, from data acquired from the Mars Pathfinder probe. This gives sound on Mars a speed of 240 m/s, much slower than the 332 m/s on earth.

Mars’ atmospheric pressure is nowhere near the level of Earth. And that might sound like not the biggest deal to the average person. But in reality, exposure to Mars’ atmosphere would cause the moisture in your lungs to boil. There are plenty of movies (such as Total Recall) that feature dramatic imaginations of what might happen. Eyeballs popping out of the body and such. It’s not pretty.

People living on Mars would need to be in pressurized suits, which just about any movie featuring fictional life on Mars will show with a degree of accuracy. But a suit that’s designed to keep humans alive on the surface of Mars would not only be pretty heavy, but adding the proper atmosphere to the inside would make it more like walking inside a bubble suit.

All of this may sound merely like an annoyance, but imagine having to deal with it every single time you go outside for the rest of your life. That’s not just an annoyance, it’s a nightmare in which you’d be trapped.

Temperature on Mars

Mars is cold. Not just cold, but very cold. Antarctica in the winter, cold. The average temperature on Mars is nearly 140 degrees F lower than the average temperature on Earth. That’s down from 57 to -81. On the warmest day of the year at the equator, Mars does perk up to a comfortable 70 degrees. But those days are few and far between, and the nights still end up around -100.

Suits will need to be pressurized and need to keep you warm enough to survive. Structures and living spaces would need a heating system, and if it breaks you’d be on the clock to repair, the trapped heat inside the structure would help but not for long.