Humans on Mars Will Age Slightly Faster, New Research Confirms
WASHINGTON D.C. – Future martian colonists will experience time – and aging – at a subtly different rate than those on Earth, according to groundbreaking new research from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The study, detailed by IFL Science on Thursday, December 4, 2025, provides the most precise calculations yet of time dilation effects on the Red planet, revealing that humans living on mars will age marginally quicker.
Researchers utilized Einstein’s theory of general relativity and meticulously measured the gravitational forces and orbital motion of Mars to determine how atomic clocks on the planet would differ from those on earth.Thier calculations show that clocks on Mars run, on average, 477 microseconds faster per day. However, this difference isn’t constant, fluctuating by as much as 226 microseconds daily due to Mars’ elliptical orbit and varying distance from the Sun.
“This variation is much wider than the Moon, which last year was calculated to have a time acceleration of around 56 microseconds per day,” IFL Science reported.
NIST physicist Bijunath Patla explained that the eccentric orbit and distance from the Sun are key factors driving these time variations. Accurate calculations require accounting for the gravitational pull of the Sun, Earth, Moon, and the shape of Mars’ orbit itself.
While the effect is small, it’s measurable. The research indicates that an individual spending 50 years on Mars would age approximately 9 seconds more than if thay had remained on Earth.
This finding has significant implications for future space exploration and the advancement of precise navigation systems. Systems like GPS rely on highly accurate clocks, and these must be adjusted to account for relativistic time differences. As plans for martian colonization and expeditions accelerate, the study underscores that interplanetary travel isn’t simply a matter of distance, but a complex interplay with the very fabric of time.
