How far is Mars from the Sun?

How far is Mars from the Sun in km and miles?

On average, Mars is 228 million km (142 million mi) from the Sun. At its closest point, called perihelion, it comes within 206.7 million km (128.4 million mi). At its farthest, called aphelion, it is 249.3 million km (154.9 million mi) away.[1][3] Right now it is about 234.6 million km (145.8 million mi) from the Sun, by our engine, which we check against NASA JPL’s Horizons system.[5]

This page is about Mars and the Sun. The gap between Mars and Earth is a different number, and it changes far more: see the live distance from Earth to Mars.

Values from NASA’s Mars and Earth fact sheets. Miles, AU, the closest-to-farthest gaps and light times are our conversions. The fact sheets describe each orbit at one moment (Jun 11, 2020); the real closest and farthest points shift slightly from one orbit to the next, as the dates below show.[1][2][3][8]

What is Mars’s distance from the Sun in AU?

Mars is 1.52 AU from the Sun on average, from about 1.38 AU at perihelion to about 1.67 AU at aphelion.[1] One AUAUAn astronomical unit (AU) is the average distance between Earth and the Sun: about 149.6 million km (93 million mi).More in the glossary, or astronomical unit, is 149,597,870.7 km, about Earth’s average distance from the Sun.[2][8] So Mars orbits about one and a half times as far out as Earth. NASA rounds it to 1.5 AU.[4]

What does Mars’s orbit around the Sun look like?

An oval, more stretched than Earth’s near-circle. Mars’s orbit has an eccentricity of 0.0935, more than five times Earth’s 0.0167.[1][2] Eccentricity measures how far an orbit is from a perfect circle, which scores 0.[3] Over one orbit, Mars’s distance from the Sun swings by about 42.6 million km (26.5 million mi). Earth’s swings by about 5 million km (3.1 million mi).[1][2]

Mars speeds up as it nears the Sun and slows as it pulls away. It moves at 26.5 km/s (16.5 mi/s) at perihelion and 22.0 km/s (13.7 mi/s) at aphelion.[1][3] Its orbit is tilted about 1.85° to the plane of Earth’s orbit.[1][2]

Earth, on a smaller and faster inside track, laps Mars about every 780 days.[1][3] That rhythm sets the launch windows for missions to Mars, about every 26 months. The stretched orbit also decides how close the two planets get. In August 2003, with Mars at perihelion, they came within 55.8 million km (34.7 million mi), the closest in nearly 60,000 years, NASA said.[9] Mars’s close approach to Earth on Feb 20, 2027, less than two weeks before aphelion, brings it only to about 101.4 million km (63.0 million mi), by JPL’s Horizons ephemeris.[5]

When is Mars at perihelion and aphelion?

Mars reaches perihelion and aphelion once each per Mars year, about 343 days apart. These are the dates from 2024 to 2032:

Our calculation from NASA JPL’s Horizons ephemeris: the moments Mars’s distance from the center of the Sun stops falling or rising. Miles and AU are our conversions.[5][8]

Perihelion comes at LsSeason (Ls)Ls is Mars’s position around the Sun in degrees — 0° starts northern spring, 90° summer, 180° autumn and 270° winter — so it tells you the season.More in the glossary 251°, shortly before northern winter begins, NASA’s Mars24 notes say.[6] Aphelion comes half an orbit later, at about Ls 71°, in late northern spring. The Ls number in the box at the top of this page shows where Mars is on its orbit right now.

How long does it take Mars to orbit the Sun?

687 Earth days, or about 1.88 Earth years. Measured against the stars, one lap takes 686.98 days. From one northern spring to the next, it takes 686.97 days, or about 669 sols.[1][6] Mars needs longer than Earth because it is farther out: it has a bigger orbit to cover, and it moves more slowly, at 24.1 km/s on average against Earth’s 29.8 km/s.[1][4] More on Martian years and calendars on How long is a day on Mars?

How does the distance change Mars’s seasons?

It makes summer in the southern hemisphere shorter and hotter than summer in the north. Mars has seasons because its axis is tilted, like Earth’s.[7] But Mars is closest to the Sun shortly before southern summer begins.[6] Near the Sun it moves faster, so southern summer lasts about 154 sols, while northern summer lasts about 178.[3][4]

It is warmer, too. “For part of a Martian year, the planet is closer to the sun and therefore significantly hotter,” NASA says, and that time falls in southern summer.[7] By our calculation from NASA’s fact sheets, sunlight at perihelion is about 45% stronger than at aphelion: about 713 W/m² against about 490 W/m². Earth’s yearly swing is about 7%.[1][2] See the season on Mars right now in Mars weather.

Why do big dust storms start near perihelion?

Because that is when sunlight heats Mars the most. Sunlight warms the ground and the air just above it; the warm air rises and carries dust with it, NASA explains. Larger storms typically happen only in southern summer, when Mars is closer to the Sun and that heating is strongest.[7] NASA’s Mars24 notes also link the timing of perihelion to the “occasional onset of global dust storms.”[6] How big those storms get is on Mars weather.

How long does sunlight take to reach Mars?

About 12.7 minutes at Mars’s average distance, by our calculation: the distance divided by the speed of light. NASA rounds it to 13 minutes.[1][4][8] At perihelion the trip takes about 11.5 minutes; at aphelion, about 13.9. Sunlight reaches Earth in about 8.3 minutes.[1][2][8]

Sources

1. NASA NSSDCA — Mars Fact SheetPrimary · checked Oct 6, 2026
2. NASA NSSDCA — Earth Fact SheetPrimary · checked Oct 6, 2026
3. NASA NSSDCA — Notes on the Fact SheetsPrimary · checked Oct 6, 2026
4. NASA Science — Mars: FactsPrimary · checked Oct 6, 2026
5. NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics — Horizons System (Mars’s distance from the Sun, 2024–2032, and the engine check)Primary · checked Oct 6, 2026
6. NASA GISS — Mars24 Sunclock — Technical Notes on Mars Solar TimePrimary · checked Oct 6, 2026
7. NASA — The Fact and Fiction of Martian Dust StormsPrimary · checked Oct 6, 2026
8. NASA JPL Solar System Dynamics — Astrodynamic ParametersPrimary · checked Oct 6, 2026
9. NASA Science — Mars: Closest EncounterPrimary · checked Oct 6, 2026