What watch would they take to colony Mars?

[mlcor]

Well then..., that's hardly worth mentioning.

Don't be so hasty to dismiss this--it would mean well over an extra half hour per day to spend in the pub...

[WWII70]

According to this the Martian day is slightly (2.7%) longer than earth's?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timekeeping_on_Mars

I have watches that run that slow anyway.

[Statius]

Something with a countdown timer so they'll know how long they have until they're dead.

[GlennO]

I have watches that run that slow anyway.

Me too, but missing the shuttle back to earth might be a bigger deal than missing the bus to work.

[geoffbot]

Me too, but missing the shuttle back to earth might be a bigger deal than missing the bus to work.

Ain't no shuttle back home from Mars...

[T1ck]

There should be enough light for an EcoDrive to charge, but in most likelihood out will be some twerked version of a Google Watch. Or a G-shock.

[Raza]

How's the cosmic radiation and temperature variations on Mars? In outer space, quartz watches die quickly..

Really? I thought most space missions used quartz watches these days.

[OhDark30]

I'd take the Strela. Proven open space track record, and mine survived 35 years between manufacture and first service - plenty of time for Mars to develop a watch repair industry :-)

[popoki nui]

There are plenty of Mars watches available already; several brands make watches that keep both Mars and Earth time.
http://executivejewelers.com/jewelsc...?idCategory=10
http://boingboing.net/tag/horology/page/2 (scroll down)
And of course, there are many Martian time apps available. Quartz watches don't necessarily suffer badly in space; remember that solar radiation decreases inversely with the square of the distance from the Sun. Radiation at Mars is significantly less than at Earth, and colonists will spend most of their time inside protected structures anyway.
So...timekeeping on Mars would be mostly by computer for official mission purposes, and any one of a number of altered mechanical and/or quartz timepieces for personal use.



~Sherry.

[tempocalypse]

Radiation at Mars is significantly less than at Earth, and colonists will spend most of their time inside protected structures anyway.

I should just point out that although you are right about the decreasing radiation along the inverse square principle, the Earth is well protected by a thick atmosphere and more importantly a strong magnetosphere which extends well into orbital distances. With only a very thin atmosphere and no magnetic field (I think some scientists believe Mars' core stopped spinning) the surface and low orbit radiation on Mars is very high compared to Earth. Even so I don't think its so high as to damage equipment though.

I'm curious about the quartz comments... wonder if anyone has any detailed info. My information (I could be wrong) was that although Nasa approved several quartz watches for flight, the Speedmaster is the only one rated for EVAs (spacewalks etc). Perhaps theres something to it?