Planetary Science of Mars

nancy 1homas
Our Solar System
Mars to Earth Comparison
LarLh
Mars
1he Moon
History
lormed 4.3 bllllon years
ago
8abylonlans dlscovered
Mars over 3600 years
ago
Mars ls named aer
Lhe 8oman god of war
Popular Culture
MosL llkely Lo harbor
llfe - Maruans"
ln 1877 asLronomer
Clovannl Schlaperelll
saw large canall" or
canals on Lhe surface
Maruan lnvaders ln
P.C. Wells' War of
Lhe Worlds"
Marvln Lhe Maruan
Missions to Mars
llrsL successful y-by of
Mars was on !uly 14-13,
1963 by nASA's Marlner 4
llrsL ob[ecLs Lo successfully
land on Lhe surface were
SovleL probes Mars 2 and
Mars 3
nASA hoenlx Mars Lander
arrlved ln norLh olar
8eglon on May 23, 2008
Mars Lxplorauon 8overs
SplrlL and CpporLunlLy
landed ln 2004
CpporLunlLy 8over
Mars at a Glance
1hln carbon dloxlde aLmosphere
lron oxlde prevalenL on
Lhe surface
olar lce caps and oLher waLer
lndlcaLors
1wo moons - hobos and
uelmos
Hellas Basin
1800 km
Tharsis
Olympus Mons
LxuncL volcano
Cver 16 mlles hlgh -
3 umes Laller Lhan ML.
LveresL
Valles Marineris
Outow
Channels
8eull vallls
Merldlanl lanum

Polar Ice Caps
norLh ole
SouLh ole
Future Exploration
1raclng presence of waLer
More rovers - lncludlng reLurn mlsslons wlLh
soll samples
Manned mlsslons Lo Mars?
8eLween 2030 and 2033
Thank you!
Cuesuons?