What time is it on Mars?

Space agencies around the world are hoping to send astronauts to Mars in the near future, but when they get there, what time will it be?

Well, scientists think they might now have the answer.

A new study suggests that time on Mars moves slightly quicker than here on Earth.

Experts have calculated that it passes 477 millionths of a second faster per day on the Red Planet.

We already know that Martian days and years are longer than those on Earth.

A day on Mars - which is the time taken by a planet to spin once on its axis - is 40 minutes longer than on Earth.

A Mars year is almost twice as long as Earth's 365-day year - taking the equivalent of 687 days to complete its orbit around the Sun.

But scientists wanted to find out how fast or slow each second passes on Mars compared with Earth.

The study was carried out by experts at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the US.

Clocks don't tick at the same rate across the universe.

They will will run slightly slower or faster depending on a number of factors including the strength of gravity, so the team decided to take a closer look at Mars to find out.

Using years of data collected from Mars missions, they were able to calculate that, on average, clocks on Mars will tick 477 millionths of a second faster per day than on Earth.

However, the team also explained that Mars' unusual orbit and gravity from its planetary neighbours - including Earth, Jupiter and Saturn - can increase or decrease this amount by as much as 226 millionths of a second a day over the course of the Martian year.

It might not sound like a lot, but knowing this data will be a huge advantage for scientists and space agencies, especially when it comes to visiting the Red Planet in the future.

NIST physicist Bijunath Patla explained: "Knowing how clocks will tick on Mars is a steppingstone for future space missions.

"As Nasa plans Mars exploration missions, understanding time on our planetary neighbour will help synchronise navigation and communication across our solar system," he added.