Published rover records are presented as dated minimum and maximum values for a specific landing site. They should not be generalized to the entire planet.
THERMAL ENVIRONMENT
Temperature on Mars
Mars has no single meaningful daily temperature. Surface conditions vary sharply between day and night and depend on latitude, season, elevation, dust and the thermal properties of the ground.
Climatological products extend spatial coverage where no station is present. Their value is comparison across geography and season, while their limitation is that they are not live instrument readings.
Temperatures are reported in degrees Celsius alongside sol or Earth date and, where available, local mean solar time. Time context is essential because the diurnal cycle is large.
Scientific dossier
The thermal environment of a cold desert world
Mars is cold on average, but its scientific story lies in variation: sunlight, latitude, season, local time, elevation, dust and ground thermal inertia create very different conditions within one sol.
How temperature is measured
Orbital instruments infer surface temperature from infrared emission; landers measure local air, ground or instrument-environment temperatures. These related quantities are not interchangeable and require measurement type and sensor height.
Daily and seasonal cycles
The thin atmosphere stores little heat, allowing rapid cooling after sunset. Martian seasons are longer than Earth's and their intensity is affected by the eccentric orbit and dust cycle.
Why one number is misleading
A planetary mean helps comparison but not operations. Engineering needs minimum, maximum, timing, duration, recurrence, uncertainty and a distinction between surface and atmospheric temperature.
Primary reading and data sources
Explore the Mars knowledge system
MARS WEATHERMars Weather: Temperature, Pressure and Wind3D MARS GLOBEInteractive 3D Mars GlobePLANETARY CARTOGRAPHYInteractive Map of MarsMARS ATMOSPHEREAtmosphere and Pressure on MarsRADIATION ENVIRONMENTRadiation on MarsSOURCE REGISTRYMars Scientific Data SourcesREPRODUCIBLE METHODMars Operations Methodology