Whenever we step on a scale and see our weight, we are seeing the force of the Earth’s gravity pushing us down. In the vacuum of space where there is no gravity pulling you down, you weigh nothing. Since each planet has a different mass, the force of gravity is different on each planet. So your weight will be different on each planet. Although your weight depends on a planet’s surface gravity, your mass remains the same regardless of where you are. So you can use your mass along with the surface gravity of a planet to determine how much you would weigh on another planet. Your weight is equal to your mass multiplied by the surface gravity of the planet you are on. The formula is: Weight = Mass x Surface Gravity.
Weight on inner planets
Earth has the highest surface gravity of all the rocky planets, and so our weight on Earth is greater than on any of the other rocky worlds. Image credit: NASA
Earth has the highest surface gravity of the inner rocky worlds, so your weight on Earth will be greater than on Mercury, Venus, or Mars. For example, if you weigh 60 kilograms on Earth, on Mars you would weigh 22.8 kilograms, the equivalent of 50 pounds. Using the formula already provided, we can see how we get this number. With a mass of 60 kilograms and a surface gravity on Mars of 0.38, we can multiply these two numbers together to get 22.8 kilograms. On Mercury, a 60 kilogram person would weigh about the same as on Mars, while on Venus it would weigh 54.6 kilograms.
Weight on outer planets
Each of the outer gas giants placed side by side. Image credit: NASA
The surface gravity of gas giants is much higher than on much smaller, rocky worlds, so your weight on some of the gas giants would be quite high. For example, a 60 kilo person on Jupiter would weigh more than 140 kilos on Jupiter, equivalent to 308 pounds. Again, we get this number by multiplying 60 kilograms by Jupiter’s surface gravity, which is 2.34. 60 times 2.34 is 140. Interestingly, your weight on Saturn and Uranus would actually be less than on Earth, and that’s because they have lower densities than our world.
Weight of a person of 60 kilos on each planet
Planet weight of a 60 kilo (132 lb) person
Mercury
22.8 kilograms (50.2 pounds)
Venus
54.6 kilograms (120.3 pounds)
land
60 kilos (132 pounds)
March
22.8 kilograms (50.2 pounds)
jupiter
140 kilograms (308 pounds)
Saturn
55.8 kilograms (123 pounds)
Uranus
55.2 kilograms (121.7 pounds)
neptune
67.2 kilograms (148.2 pounds)
Aidan Remple July 31, 2022 in Science