What factors would need to be considered to develop a Martian calendar?
Calendars must take into account the astronomical cycles of a planet: its day and its year. On Earth we have the additional complication of the Moons orbital period. Lunisolar calendars, such as the Hebrew, Hindu, and Chinese calendars, take all three of these cycles into consideration. Solar calendars, such as the Gregorian calendar, are based on the day and the year alone, and months are arbitrary divisions of the year. Calendars must also serve to mark human cycles that are unrelated to astronomical cycles. A conspicuous example is the social cycle of the seven-day week. Also, in solar calendars, the month is arguably a human social cycle since it does not track the phases of the Moon. Another consideration in designing a calendar is accounting for the fractional number of days in a year. Earths year is 365.24219 days long, and so calendar years contain either 365 or 366 days according to a specific intercalation formula. Such a formula would need to be developed to account for the
