This New Watch By Omega Tells Time On Both Earth And Mars

Meet this futuristic and new-fangled watch christened as “Omega Speedmaster X-33 Marstimer” that has been developed by Omega in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA). The exquisite watch can let you stand accurate time on Mars as well as on Earth with its promising new technology. This analog/digital quartz watch comes with a continuous calendar function embedded with a “Martian Sol” algorithm. It has to be noted that the Martian sol is 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds, and the year is 668.599 sols long. On the other hand, a solar day on Earth is 24 hours long, with a year containing 365.25 days. Not to mention, you can get your hands on this undeniably cool watch for a whopping US$6,400.00.

However, based on these reasons, this dual-purpose watch has been developed so that astronomers when going to Mars can easily equate time there with Earth. It is important to note that taking Earth’s watches out there in a Martian climate is a useless option because they cease to function up there. Scientists and engineers are bound to monitor the functions of robotic landers and rovers on Mars in Martian time, so having a Speedmaster X-33 right up there on Mars is almost a necessity in order to facilitate efficient functions. Although, we should accept the fact that even today, there are little to no markets for such watches on Earth.

Coupled with this, Omega’s 5622 thermo-compensated quartz movement mechanism has been formulated by the forth-coming X-33 Marstimer. One of the worth-noticing features of this watch is that it automatically shuts down the digital display of the watch when the hands of the clock tick at 12 ‘ o’clock. The reason behind this is to save power while, in the background, the watch keeps running and performing the embedded functions. Moreover, in order to achieve improved efficacy, a standout feature has also been added to the watch that lets it go into “standby” mode when it remains stationary or untouched for about five days.

The watch has an incredible capability to keep track of two time zones on Earth, i.e., the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the Mission Elapsed Time (MET). It also takes into consideration the Martian leap years, along with a 100-hour chronograph function as well. However, on Mars, the watch can monitor two time zones, specifically Martian Coordinated Time (MTC) and two other time zones there. It should be noted that MTC is in accordance with the “Martian Prime Meridian”.

According to Omega President and CEO, Mr. Raynald Aeschlimann, “Anyone interested in space, or even science fiction, is obsessed with Mars. It has generated so much curiosity, and so many incredible stories. We have even created a name for its imaginary inhabitants. It’s so close yet so far. We long to walk across its surface. To be here on Earth and able to track its movements, gives the term timepiece a whole new meaning. I’m thrilled with this new addition to the famous Speedmaster family. “