RED PLANET

M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 MARS
Mars is the fourth planet from
the Sun. It is just half the size of
the Earth. Mars is known as the
red planet because of the colour
of its soil & the reddish dust
covering its surface. The surface
of the Mars is rich in iron oxide,
which is rust and has a reddish
colour. M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 MARS
Mars has very little atmosphere and gets very cold. Like
Earth, it has ice caps on its poles but the rest of its
surface is a dusty red desert. Mars can be study to the
points of similarity with our own world. Mars is the only
other planet with both an atmosphere and with
surface temperatures that are comparable with
Earth’s. Mars appears uniquely promising as a planet on
which to search for life, past or present.
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 ABOUT MARS
Mass
Diameter
Density
Gravity
Rotational Period
Length of Day
Distance from Sun
Orbital Period
Mean Temperature
Surface Pressure
Ring System?
Global Magnetic Field?
 MATIAN ORBIT
Because Mars's orbit is more
elliptical than that of Earth,
Mars's distance from the Sun
varies widely. At its perihelion,
or closest approach to the Sun,
Mars receives 45 percent more
solar radiation than at its
aphelion, or farthest point.
Temperatures on Mars range
from -220° F to 62° F (-140°
C to 17° C).
M. YAZDAN ZUHAD
 MARITAN SATELLITES
The Martial satellites are
Phobos and Deimos Both moons
were discovered in August 1877
by Asaph Hall. Ninety-four years
later, NASA's Mariner 9 spacecraft
got a much better look at the two
moons from its orbit around Mars.
Mars' moons are among the
smallest in the solar system.
 MARITAN SATELLITES
Of the two moons, Phobos is a bit
larger than Deimos, Phobos orbits
closer to Mars with a semi-major axis
of 9,377 km (5,827 miles).
Deimos orbits Mars with a semi-major
axis of 23,460 km (14,580 miles).
Phobos whips around Mars three times
a day, while the more distant Deimos
takes 30 hours for each orbit. Like
Earth's Moon, Phobos and Deimos
always present the same face to their
planet.
 MARTIAN LANDSCAPE
Mars has many interesting geological features on its surface that
first became apparent with Mariner 9, were subsequently
studied by the Viking missions, and many of which now are
visible from the Hubble Space Telescope.

1. Crater 2. Mons
3. Dunes 4. Plains
5. Canyons 6. Ridges
 CRATER
Crater - A circular depression created
by an impacting body. Craters can be
subdivided as being (from small to
large) simple, complex, central peak
basin, peak ring basin, and multi-ring
basin. Mars is unique in that is has
craters with ejecta deposits that have a
unique "flowing" appearance. It is
believed that the presence of
groundwater or ice is responsible for
these features.
 MONS

Mons - are the large

isolated mountains, as
opposed to Montes (a
chain of mountains). On
Mars, most are of
volcanic origin.
 DUNES

DUNES - A sand hill or sand ridge formed by the wind, usually in

desert regions or near lakes and oceans.
 CANYONS
CANYONS - A canyon refers to a deep and narrow valley that
has steep sides. The word canyon is derived from the Spanish
word cañon, which means pipe or tube. Canyons are formed
by wind and water erosion over a long period of time after a
large hill, mountain or plateau is formed.
The Martian surface has some large canyon systems. The
largest is Valles Marineris, which extends for about 5000 km,
is 500 km wide in the widest portions, and as much as 6 km
deep.
 CANYONS
 RIDGES

RIDGES - A ridge is a long, narrow, elevated strip of land.

Ridges are usually termed hills or mountains as well,
depending on size.
 MARTIAN LANDSCAPE
The volcanoes on Mars are now extinct,
but they indicate a preceding period of
significant Martian volcanism. Such
volcanoes are called shield volcanoes,
because they look like shields. The
largest Mountain and volcano on Mars is
not one of the three shown previously.
It is called Olympus Mons. Olympus
Mons is 600 km across its base and
about 25 km above the surrounding
plain.
 MARTIAN LANDSCAPE
There are channels on Mars as much as 1500 km long and
200 km wide that appear to have been cut by running water.
Under present atmospheric conditions on Mars (low pressure),
water cannot exist as a free liquid on the surface (it must be
gas or solid). Thus, evidence for water erosion suggests that
the Martian atmosphere may have been more dense in the
past.
 MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE
The atmosphere of Mars is
thin but this atmosphere
supports high velocity
seasonal winds that are
correlated with solar
heating of the surface and
that produce dust storms
that lead to a lot of surface
erosion.
 MISSIONS TO MARS
For decades, the NASA and its partners have sent orbiters, landers and
rovers, dramatically increasing our knowledge about the Red Planet and
paving the way for future human explorers.

 1965 - MARINER 4; The first mission sent to Mars, it made only brief
flyovers.
 1969 - MARINER 6 & 7; studied the southern hemisphere and
equator of Mars.
 1971 - MARINER 9; became the first artificial satellite of Mars when
it arrived and went into orbit and photographed the Olympus volcano
for the first time.
 MISSIONS TO MARS
 1973 - MARS 4, MARS 5, MARS 6, AND MARS 7; Russian
spacecraft successfully sent to Mars.
 1976 - VIKING 1 AND 2; they were the first mission to land a
spacecraft safely on the surface of another planet, searched
for traces of life.
 1997 - MARS PATHFINDER; was the third successful Mars
landing.
 1997 - MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR; took more than 100,000
photos of the planet.
 MISSIONS TO MARS
 2001 - MARS ODYSSEY; mapped the mineralogy and
morphology of Mars's surface.
 2003 - MARS EXPRESS; Orbiting probe. First spacecraft sent
by the European Space Agency (ESA).
 2004 - SPIRIT AND OPPORTUNITY; surveyed many square
miles of the surface.
 2006 - MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER; made a detailed
study of the Martian surface while orbiting the planet.