22 November 2006

If only I were on Mars

Mars colony
As I am approaching the deadline for thesis submission, I just wish I was on Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun in our solar system, named after the Roman god of war.

The rotation period of Mars is about 24.62 hours, which means that I would have about 37 more minutes a day if I were on Mars; the orbital period is 686.96 days and thus I would have almost 322 more days a year if I were doing a PhD on Mars. Moreover, 37 minutes are enough for me to write something in my diary to fulfil my obsession (please refer to the previous blog entry). Because it's always a tough task to find time to maintain my hand-written diary everyday, having some extra time every day is absolutely great.

Of course, it's just a matter of 'I wish I could' and the only thing I can do at at the moment is merely finishing my thesis as soon as possible. However, I do have a question: What sort of calendar or system of time will we use should we immigrate to Mars in the future?

Shall we measure time based on the rotation of Earth on its axis with respect to the stars, or shall we just ignore our mother Earth but instead only take into consideration the physical or astronomical characteristics of Mars?

Well, it doesn't matter for the time being as I don't think I would be able to move to Mars within six weeks and claim more time for me to finish the thesis. I definitely have to submit by the end of 2006 on Earth, otherwise I fail. But I'll advise my daughter, if I have one in the future, to do her PhD on Mars so that she may have more time.

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