NASA Engineer Switches His Entire Family to Mars Time

Mars Watch Face This is a watch face designed by a specialty watchmaker in Montrose, Calif., who built them for Mars rover drivers. JPL

Since the moment the Mars rover Curiosity landed in Gale Crater two weeks ago, NASA engineers have been living on Mars time, rolling their clocks forward 40 minutes every day to keep time with the rover. One engineer brought his entire family along for the ride.

Flight director David Oh, his wife, Bryn, and their three kids — 13-year-old Braden, 10-year-old Ashlyn and 8-year-old Devyn — are waking and sleeping in accordance with the Martian clock.

A Mars day, called a sol, is 39 minutes and 35 seconds longer than an Earth day — not a huge difference, but one that adds up quickly. It drives most engineers crazy. The Oh family is making somewhat of a staycation out of it, at least before the kids start school. AP spent some time at their Pasadena-area home — click through to the Huffington Post to hear about their adventure.