SIZE IN SPACE

planet · Object guide

How big is Mars?

A smaller world with a familiar outline.

One scale. Two worlds.True diameter scale
Mars and Earth to scaleTheir diameters differ by a factor of 1.8796. Illustrations show body diameter, not separation in space.

Body diameters to scale. Positions and surface artwork are illustrative; Saturn’s rings are excluded.

A change of perspective

1.8796× the diameter. See how the two worlds measure up.

Diameter is a distance across an object. Volume grows with the cube of that distance.

Choose a size to bring this comparison down to Earth.

Mars: Twice the source mean radius; body diameter only, excluding rings.

Earth: Twice the source mean radius; body diameter only, excluding rings.

How we measure size →
Mean diameter

6,779 km

Twice the source mean radius; body diameter only, excluding rings.

Mars is an inviting step away from Earth in this collection: smaller, but still large enough for the difference to be immediately visible. Compare the disks before reading the ratio and see how close your first impression comes.

A diameter is not a volume

A world roughly half as wide has much less than half the volume. Use the spherical-volume result below the scene to explore that distinction. Neither number measures mass or tells you how many solid spheres could be packed inside another.

Measurement source

Planetary Physical Parameters — NASA JPL. Twice the source mean radius; body diameter only, excluding rings.

Source references