HOW LONG IS
A MARS DAY?
A Mars day which is known as a sol is
24h 39m 35.25s (measured in Earth hours)
and is approximately 2.7% longer
than a standard day on Earth.
HOW LONG IS
A MARS YEAR?
A Mars Year is about 686.98 Earth days
or 668.5991 sols
WHAT IS YOUR
LOCATION ON MARS?
189.400°E 40.670°N
HOW DID YOU DECIDE ON THIS LOCATION?
The project had an arbitrary start date of 9am on July 15. This decision determined the longitudinal position as 189.400°E as this was the location on Mars where it was also 9am. The latitude reflects the latitude of Open Source Gallery in an attempt to mirror my position as accurately as possible.
WHY MARS TIME?
Of all the planets in the Solar System the Martian day is most closely aligned to an Earth day yet still retains its own discrete value. This nominal shift presents a unique challenge for our standardized concepts of time – as the fixed parameters of hour, a minute, a second almost apply but require an elongation that defies the systematized functionality of these original terms.
As an artist interested in concept of the Scientific Method and the creation and application of standards the idea of living by another type of time seemed like an experiment worth doing to understand not only time on Mars but our own time better.
CAN I HAVE A
MARS CLOCK?
Absolutely! You can download the NASA Mars24 clock I have been using directly to your desktop! (If you add my co-ordinate in you can even keep time with me!)
Click here for the NASA download page.
HOW DOES LIVING BY
MARS DAY WORK?
Every day I live in the gallery will be a day lived according to Mars time. My ' day' will be approximately 40minutes longer than a day on Earth and although this doesn't sound like much this is cumulative time - so after day one I will only be 40 minutes out of sync, but on day two this becomes 80minutes, day three 120 minutes, and so on.... These difference quickly add up and half way through the project my day will totally invert before slowly returning to normal.
ARE YOU ACTUALLY LIVING IN THE GALLERY?
Yes.
HOW LONG ARE YOU GOING TO LIVE IN
THE GALLERY FOR?
I will be living in the gallery for the full 37 days (from July 15 - August 21) which is the amount of time it will take for my Mars clock and my Earth clock to return to synchronicity. (i.e. both clocks started at 9am on July 15 – the next time they will share the same time again will be at 6pm on August 21)
WILL YOU BE IN THE GALLERY THE WHOLE TIME?
No, my objective is to maintain a relatively normal routine [see my schedule] – which means going outside to exercise, visit groceries store and galleries as well as to meet up with friends and generally be a social human being.
HOWEVER, all of this must be done according to time on Mars and my actions and activities should reflect my experience of time. [i.e If I meet friend at 8pm Earth time but it's 8am Mars time we will need to eat Breakfast]
I am interested in the exchanges / interactions and negotiations that will need to take place in order to make this happen. The conversations, both written and verbal will then become part of work itself.
ARE YOU CRAZY?
Yes, quite possibly.