Tides on the planets Mars and Mercury

We have calculated tides on Mars and Mercury. In particular for Mars, we have used Roosbeek's tidal potential to calculate tidal displacements and gravity variations. The tides are mainly caused by the Sun, the natural satellites Phobos and Deimos contribute about 8% and 0.08%, respectively. The Martian tidal displacements are about 1 centimeter and the tidally induced gravity changes on Mars are of the order of 1 μGal. These findings are important in the frame of the future geophysical experiment Netlander, which will measure station positions and gravity variations. For Mercury, the tidal signals are about 100 times larger, making future tidal measurements very interesting since they would offer the possibility to better determine the interior structure of this planet. The large tidal signal compared to Mars is caused by the proximity of Mercury to the Sun.