What Would It Be Like to Walk on Mars? Gravity, Temperature, and Terrain

Suiting Up: The Need for Protection

Before setting foot on Mars, you’d need to wear a fully pressurized space suit. The Martian atmosphere is made up of over 95% carbon dioxide, with almost no breathable oxygen. It’s also incredibly thin—less than 1% the pressure of Earth’s atmosphere at sea level—meaning your blood would start to boil without protection. So any casual stroll on Mars requires a sophisticated extravehicular mobility unit, or EMU.

This suit would need to supply oxygen, regulate temperature, protect from radiation, and offer mobility despite its bulk. NASA and other agencies are developing next-generation suits specifically for Martian conditions. Compared to current suits used on the International Space Station, Martian versions will need greater durability for dust exposure, more flexibility for walking and climbing, and longer endurance. Wearing one would feel more like being in a small spacecraft than simply donning a uniform.

Lower Gravity, Higher Bounces

Once you step off your lander or habitat, the first thing you’d notice is how light you feel. That’s because gravity on Mars is only about 38% of what we experience on Earth. If you weighed 180 pounds here, you’d feel like you only weigh about 68 pounds on Mars. This dramatic difference wouldn’t just affect your sense of weight—it would change how you move entirely. Every step would carry you farther than expected. Walking might feel like a controlled bounce. Some people describe the idea as a mix between skipping and hopping. You could jump three times higher than on Earth and carry heavy equipment with surprising ease. However, this reduced gravity also creates challenges. Without enough downward force, it’s harder to gain traction, which means your feet could slip or drift. Over time, walking in low gravity requires different muscles and movement patterns than we’re used to. You’d also have to re-learn balance and coordination—especially while wearing a heavy suit.

Martian Terrain: Rocks, Dust, and Giant Landscapes

Walking on Mars would take you through some of the most breathtaking terrain in the solar system. But this alien ground isn’t a smooth, flat road—it’s rugged, varied, and filled with obstacles. From jagged rocks and soft sands to steep cliffs and ancient lava plains, Mars offers an adventurous hike in every direction. Much of the Martian surface is covered in iron-rich dust that gives the planet its red hue. This dust is extremely fine—almost like talcum powder—but it can be surprisingly sticky. It clings to clothing, machinery, and anything it touches, creating challenges for both humans and robots. Beneath the dust, you’d find a mix of hard basalt rock, loose gravel, and occasional patches of exposed ice or frost, depending on your location and the time of year.

Mars also hosts geological features that dwarf anything on Earth. You might gaze up at Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system, standing nearly 72,000 feet high. Or you could walk along the edge of Valles Marineris, a canyon system that stretches over 2,500 miles long and up to 7 miles deep. Even simple craters like Gale Crater, where NASA’s Curiosity rover explored, offer breathtaking terrain filled with ancient sedimentary layers and dry riverbeds. Climbing and traversing these features would be exhilarating—but also exhausting and potentially dangerous due to loose footing and unpredictable ground.

Extreme Temperatures and Chilling Winds

Next, you’d feel—or rather be insulated from—the harsh temperature of Mars. The average surface temperature is about minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit, though it can swing wildly between day and night. Near the equator at midday, temperatures can rise as high as 70°F, but plummet to minus 100°F by nightfall. At the poles, winter temperatures can fall below minus 195°F.

Because the atmosphere is so thin, heat escapes quickly, and there’s little to no insulation. In other words, standing in the sun on Mars doesn’t warm you the way it would on Earth. The suit you wear must handle not only the extreme cold but also protect from occasional temperature spikes and the threat of frostbite from direct skin exposure.

Martian winds also add to the challenge. While wind speeds can reach up to 60 miles per hour, the thin air means they carry far less force than similar winds on Earth. Still, fine dust particles kicked up by windstorms can be abrasive and damaging over time. Global dust storms can block out sunlight for weeks, limiting visibility and power generation for solar panels. Walking during a storm would likely be restricted due to low visibility, electrostatic buildup, and potential damage to suit materials.

The Sound (and Silence) of Mars

Walking on Mars wouldn’t just look and feel different—it would sound different too. The atmosphere’s low density affects the way sound travels. On Earth, air molecules transmit vibrations quickly and efficiently, allowing us to hear a wide range of tones and volumes. On Mars, sound moves more slowly and fades faster. NASA’s Perseverance rover, which brought a working microphone to Mars in 2021, captured the first audio from the planet. 

The recordings revealed that higher-frequency sounds are nearly inaudible, while lower tones—like the crunch of wheels on gravel or the whirr of motors—are muffled but audible. If you spoke on Mars without a radio, your voice would sound deeper and quieter to anyone nearby. Because of this, space suits are equipped with built-in communication systems, allowing explorers to speak through radios rather than relying on atmospheric sound. When walking alone, the only things you might hear are the internal whir of your life-support system and the gentle crunch of your boots on Martian soil.

Light and Visibility on the Red Planet

Mars is farther from the Sun than Earth, so it receives less sunlight—about 43% of what we get. That means daylight is dimmer, more like an overcast afternoon. However, the Martian sky is not dark. It glows in shades of salmon-pink and dusty orange due to light scattering off airborne particles. During sunset, the sky near the Sun turns a brilliant blue, while the rest fades to a muted red—a reversal of what we see on Earth.

Walking under Martian skies would be a hauntingly beautiful experience. Shadows would be long and soft. The Sun appears smaller in the sky, and dust in the atmosphere often gives everything a hazy, dreamlike glow. While visibility during the day is generally good, storms and twilight can limit sight drastically. Headlamps and high-contrast lenses would be essential for exploration during low-light conditions.

The Weight of Isolation and the Thrill of Discovery

Emotionally, walking on Mars would be a profound experience. On one hand, you’d be one of the few humans to ever step foot on another planet—an explorer at the forefront of human history. Every footstep would carry the weight of decades of research, hope, and ambition. You might feel awe standing in a landscape that hasn’t changed in millions of years, untouched by any biological life.

On the other hand, walking on Mars could also feel lonely, even eerie. You’d be surrounded by silence, vast emptiness, and lifeless terrain. Communication with Earth would be delayed by several minutes due to the distance, reinforcing the sense of being truly on your own. Even if you’re with a team, the awareness that help is months away would require strong psychological resilience. But for many, that same isolation would be part of the magic. Like the Apollo astronauts on the Moon, walking on Mars would be both a physical challenge and a spiritual journey—one that connects us to the cosmos and underscores the fragility of life on Earth.

Movement and Fatigue in a New World

Although Mars’ gravity is weaker, walking in a space suit is still tiring. The reduced pressure inside the suit makes it stiff, and every bend or flex requires effort. Early missions to the Moon revealed that astronauts fatigued quickly even in lower gravity. On Mars, daily tasks like hiking, drilling, or carrying samples would demand physical endurance and adaptation. Training for Martian walking involves simulations in neutral buoyancy tanks, partial-gravity rigs, and analog environments on Earth such as deserts and volcanic fields. 

NASA has also studied the biomechanics of walking in low gravity, developing improved suit joints, boot soles, and harnesses to reduce strain. Explorers on Mars would likely need to pace themselves. Long treks across rugged terrain could take hours and require frequent stops for rest and equipment checks. Mission planners are considering the use of robotic companions—rovers, drones, or robotic pack animals—to carry supplies and extend human range.

Living Off the Land: Terrain and Resources

Walking on Mars isn’t just about getting from point A to point B—it’s also about discovering and utilizing what’s beneath your feet. The regolith, or Martian soil, contains water in the form of ice and hydrated minerals. Some proposed missions envision astronauts digging and heating this soil to extract drinkable water. Rocks and soil also offer clues to the planet’s history. Walking explorers would be geologists, climatologists, and chemists all at once—collecting samples, analyzing layers, and searching for biosignatures. Just as Apollo astronauts returned with Moon rocks that transformed our understanding of the solar system, Martian walkers will bring back treasures that reshape planetary science.

Walking Toward the Future

The dream of walking on Mars is closer than ever. NASA’s Artemis program is returning humans to the Moon, setting the stage for eventual crewed missions to Mars. SpaceX, with its Starship program, has bold plans to land people on the Red Planet and establish permanent outposts. International collaboration, private innovation, and decades of robotic exploration are paving the way.

The first humans to walk on Mars will be pioneers in every sense of the word. They’ll face challenges we can only imagine—physically, emotionally, and technologically. But they’ll also experience something no human has ever known: the crunch of alien soil beneath their boots, the sight of Earth as a distant star in the sky, and the feeling of walking on a new world where humanity may one day build its next home.

One Step, Infinite Implications

Walking on Mars won’t just be a leap for science—it will be a profound human achievement. From the reduced gravity and punishing cold to the haunting beauty and geological wonder, every step will represent our ability to adapt, explore, and thrive beyond Earth. It won’t be easy. It won’t be comfortable. But it will be unforgettable. Walking on Mars will change not only how we see the universe—but how we see ourselves. Whether as a researcher, colonist, or dreamer, setting foot on the Red Planet is the beginning of a journey that stretches far beyond Mars itself.