If you stood on Mars you would weigh about 38% of your Earth weight because Martian surface gravity is roughly 0.38 g, which would let you jump higher and run differently but creates major challenges for long‑term human health and engineering
Observations from missions
Measurements from orbiters, landers and radio science experiments have constrained Mars’s gravity field and shown a mean surface gravitational acceleration near 3.72 m/s², about 38% of Earth’s 9.81 m/s², confirming the planet’s weaker pull due to its smaller mass and radius.
Why it looks blue
Mars’s lower gravity arises because the planet contains much less mass than Earth and has a smaller radius. The combination of reduced mass and distance from Mars’s centre to its surface produces a weaker gravitational acceleration experienced by objects on the surface.
Recent evidence and imagery
High‑precision tracking of spacecraft orbits and lander telemetry, together with gravity maps from missions like Mars Global Surveyor and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, refine models of mass distribution inside Mars and support the global average gravity value used for mission planning.
Implications for science
Lower gravity affects everything from trajectory design and landing dynamics to long‑term human physiology: reduced mechanical loading leads to muscle atrophy and bone loss, fluid shifts alter cardiovascular function, and habitats, suits and exercise regimens must be engineered to mitigate these effects.
Takeaway
Mars’s surface gravity of about 38% of Earth’s makes daily movement feel familiar yet easier in some ways, while presenting significant biological and engineering challenges that mission designers and physiologists must address for safe, sustainable human presence.