Space Explorer Part V-our Solar System Planet “Mars”
Published by We live in Earth! We have explored it’s geography greatly. But what discoveries did we actually make? ENTER MARS! A planet that could have been exactly like ours! Amazing facts revealed!
To begin:
Mars is the only planet whose surface can be seen in detail from the Earth. It is reddish in color, and was named after the bloody red God of war of the ancient Romans. Mars is the fourth closest planet to the sun. The diameter of Mars is 4,200 miles, a little over half that of the Earth. Mercury is the only planet smaller than Mars.
Mars Facts You Might Not Know About
Mars is red because it is rusty. There is a lot of iron in the soil, and the air on Mars has made it turn red-just like rusty iron on Earth.
One of Mars’ moons, Phobos, is moving closer and closer to Mars. Scientists think that one day it will crash into Mars.
Mars has the tallest Volcano in the Solar System named Olympus Mons and it is 15 miles high which is three times the height of Mount Everest.
Like Earth, the poles of Mars are covered in ice. The ice becomes thicker in the winter.
Mars orbits the sun every 687 Earth days.
The Martian “day” is about half a hour longer than Earth.
At its brightest, Mars outshines every other planet apart from Venus.
The thin atmosphere of Mars is made of mostly carbon dioxide.
A hundred pound man would weight 38 pounds on Mars.
In 1996 NASA, while studying the ALH 84001 meteorite of Martian origin found in Antarctica in 1984, announced that fossilized micro-organisms from Mars might be present in it.
Valleys and Canyons on Mars suggest that the planet once had large amounts of surface water.
In winter, nighttime temperatures on Mars can drop as low as -191°F.
How much would you weigh on Mars?
If you weighed 70 pounds (32 kg) on the Earth, you would weigh about 27 pounds (12 kg) on Mars.
The Planet
Mars excites scientists because its mild temperament is more like the Earth’s than any of the other planets. Evidence suggests that Mars once had rivers, streams, lakes, and even an ocean. As Mars’ atmosphere slowly depleted into outer space, the surface water began to permanently evaporate. Today the only water on Mars in either frozen in the polar caps or underground.
You may sometimes hear Mars referred to as the “Red Planet.” This is because the surface of Mars is red. If you stood on the surface of Mars, you would see red dirt and rocks everywhere.
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