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How Far Would a Home Run Travel on Mars?
How Far Would a Home Run Travel on Mars?
November 13, 2025
The idea of colonizing Mars has captured the world’s imagination, with organizations like SpaceX planning crewed missions as early as the 2030s. And while the challenges of living on another planet are enormous, it’s fun to imagine what everyday life might look like — including playing sports.
As a lifelong baseball fan, one question grabbed me:
How far would a home run travel on the Red Planet?
The answer: a really, really long way.
Why Baseball Would Be Wildly Different on Mars
Two big physical differences would completely change baseball on Mars:
1. Mars has only 38% of Earth’s gravity
Lower gravity means:
Baseballs go much farther
Balls stay in the air longer
Hitters can swing faster
2. Mars’ atmosphere is 100× thinner
Thin air means:
Almost no air resistance; Hits fly like they’re in a vacuum
Curveballs hardly curve
Fastballs don’t slow down on the way to the plate
The best Earth comparison is Coors Field in Denver, Colorado where the air is “only” 17% thinner than at sea level — and even that dramatically increases home runs and reduces the effectiveness of curve balls. Mars would be next-level!
Using Aaron Judge’s 469-Foot Bomb as a Test Case
Let’s use a real-life example: Aaron Judge’s 469-foot shot at Kaufmann Stadium hit on June 10, 2025. It had:
Exit velocity: 117.9 mph
Launch angle: 31°
I asked ChatGPT to run the physics calculations (math was never my strong suit 😅), and here’s what it told me:
On Mars, that same swing would send the ball an estimated 2,163 feet.
More than four times the actual distance on Earth.
That’s so far that if Kaufmann Stadium were magically transported to Mars, the ball would clear Interstate 70!
The Physics Behind the Calculation
Treating the baseball like a vacuum projectile:
Formula: Range = v² × sin(2θ) ÷ g
Exit velocity: 117.9 mph → 52.706 m/s
Gravity:
Earth: 9.8067 m/s²
Mars: 3.7208 m/s²
Results:
Earth (vacuum): ~821 ft
Mars (vacuum): ~2,163 ft
Mars’ atmosphere is so thin (~1% of Earth’s) that the vacuum estimate is actually pretty close to reality.
Some fun extras:
Hang time: 14.6 seconds on Mars
Apex height: 325 feet
(Imagine watching that ball just float through the Martian sky)
Other Factors That Would Affect a Martian Home Run
Even beyond gravity and air density, several quirks would affect hitting:
Faster “appearing” fastballs
On Earth, pitches lose ~9% of velocity getting to the plate.
On Mars? Almost zero speed loss.
Hitters would have to react faster.
Faster bat speed
Lower gravity means hitters could whip the bat through the zone faster — possibly canceling out the faster pitches.
The space-suit problem
Of course, there is one slight problem with all of this: Humans can’t breathe on Mars. Baseball players would need pressurized space suits to play on the Martian surface, which would add weight and reduce mobility.
But I'm just going to ignore that part because it’s more fun to imagine Aaron Judge launching a 2,000-foot home run with no restrictions.
Want More Baseball-on-Mars Fun?
If you enjoyed this, you might like my middle-grade novel Martian Baseball League, which imagines a Little League team playing baseball on Mars. The story uses real planetary science to teach young readers about physics through a fun, fast-paced adventure.
It’s perfect for:
Young baseball fans
Space-obsessed kids
Classroom STEM lessons
Parents and grandparents who want to encourage their children/grandchildren to learn while having fun
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