As they are buried over time, sediments become more compacted, increasing their density. When geologic processes first deposit sediments, they typically contain lots of empty space. The CheMin instrument on the rover had previously told them the minerals comprising the sedimentary rock were not low density, meaning the rock must be highly porous, with lots of small gaps and spaces. They were surprised to find that Curiosity was moving over low-density areas of rock. вЂњThere may still be вЂnewвЂ™ science instruments waiting to be discovered on Curiosity.вЂќ Next, they calibrated this raw information, accounting for the effects of temperature, the tilt of the rover, and other factors. Lewis and his team took into account MarsвЂ™ rotation to accommodate expected changes in acceleration. He thought of using existing data from accelerometers in the roverвЂ™s navigation equipment to measure surface gravity as the rover climbed Mount Sharp, a 5-kilometerВ (just over 3 miles) mountain within Gale Crater and the focus of CuriosityвЂ™s exploration. For example, one can barely make out Gale Crater-with its 150-kilometer (just over 93 miles) span-in the satellite gravity data of Mars. But because the satellites are so far away from their targets, the spatial resolution is limited. Typically, to measure gravity on Mars and other planets, researchers rely on orbiting satellites like the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The difference between the predicted (dashed black line) and modeled (solid black line) result from the additional downward pull of the mass of Mount Sharp itself, allowing the researchers to estimate the density of the rocks beneath the rover. However, measurements using the roverвЂ™s accelerometers (gray) show that the gravity is not falling off as fast as expected just from its change in elevation. As Curiosity ascends Mount Sharp, getting farther from the center of Mars, the gravitational pull of the planet gets very slightly weaker. So variations in gravity reveal the density of underlying rock, providing clues to the areaвЂ™s geologic history. Higher density rocks in the subsurface, for instance, exert a slightly greater downward gravitational force than lower density rocks. Scientists can learn a lot about a planet by measuring what lies beneath the surface at a particular location. вЂњThis allows us to get new information about the subsurface of Mars in ways the rover was never designed to do.вЂќ вЂњCuriosity, essentially, has a new science instrument six-and-a-half years into its mission,вЂќ says lead author Kevin Lewis, assistant professor of earth and planetary sciences at the Johns Hopkins University. вЂњCuriosity, essentially, has a new science instrument six-and-a-half years into its missionвЂ¦вЂќДetails on the new measurements, which researchers based on scientific analysis of data the rover already produced for navigation and engineering purposes, appear in the journal Science. Size and density is not interrelated in such a way that one would be affected by the other.NASAвЂ™s Curiosity rover had been studying Mars for years before a scientist thought of using it for something new: making the first surface gravity measurements on a planet other than Earth. The force of gravity on Mars is even smaller than it is on Mercury! Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System but it denser than Mars. In this case, if you were to stand on Mars, you may weigh less but your body mass will remain the same. Mass is what makes up the object while weight is the force which gravity pulls you down towards the center of a planet. Although it is important to note that weight is quite different from mass. People who want to lose weight will have a jolly old time in Mars. Thus something that would normally weight 100 pounds on earth would only weigh a measly 38 pounds on Mars. The gravity on Mars is 3/8 less than the force of gravity on earth. Mars is just 4/5 of the earthвЂ™s density.Д«ecause Mars has less mass than Earth, the force of gravity on Mars is lesser as well. To illustrate these characteristics, Mars density is similar to that of the EarthвЂ™s moon. The diameter of Mars is 6,792 kilometers. Mars total density is 3.933 grams/cubic centimeter. The mass of Mars is 7.08 x 1020 tons or 6.42 X 1020 metric tons. It is the second smallest planet in the Solar System.

Mars is ten times less massive than that of Earth.