MERCURY

Mercury is the smallest planet in our solar system—only slightly larger than
Earth's Moon.
It is the closest planet to the Sun at a distance of about 36 million miles (58 million
kilometers) or 0.39 AU.
One day on Mercury (the time it takes for Mercury to rotate or spin once with
respect to the stars) takes 59 Earth days. One day-night cycle on Mercury takes
175.97 Earth days. Mercury makes a complete orbit around the Sun (a year in
Mercury time) in just 88 Earth days.
Mercury is a rocky planet, also known as a terrestrial planet. Mercury has a solid,
cratered surface, much like the Earth's moon.
Mercury's thin atmosphere, or exosphere, is composed mostly of oxygen (O2),
sodium (Na), hydrogen (H2), helium (He), and potassium (K). Atoms that are
blasted off the surface by the solar wind and micrometeoroid impacts create
Mercury's exosphere.
Mercury has no moons.
There are no rings around Mercury.
No evidence for life has been found on Mercury. Daytime Temperatures can reach
430 degrees Celsius (800 degrees Fahrenheit) and drop to -180 degrees Celsius (-
290 degrees Fahrenheit) at night. It is unlikely life (as we know it) could survive
on this planet.
Standing on Mercury's surface at its closest approach to the Sun, our star would
appear more than three times larger than it does on Earth.
Only two missions have visited this rocky planet: Mariner 10 in 1974-5 and
MESSENGER, which flew past Mercury three times before going into orbit
around Mercury in 2011.
Mercury's elliptical—egg-shaped—orbit and sluggish rotation, the morning Sun
appears to rise briefly, set and rise again from some parts of the planet's surface.
The same thing happens in reverse at sunset.
Mercury has a dark gray, rocky surface which is covered with a thick layer of dust.
The surface is thought to be made up of igneous silicate rocks and dust.
 VENUS
Planetary Hot Spot
Venus may have had a shallow liquid-water ocean and habitable surface
temperatures for up to 2 billion years of its early history, according to computer
modeling of the planet’s ancient climate by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute
for Space Studies (GISS) in New York.
Second planet from the Sun and our closest planetary neighbor, Venus is similar in
structure and size to Earth, but it is now a very different world. Venus spins slowly
in the opposite direction most planets do. Its thick atmosphere traps heat in a
runaway greenhouse effect, making it the hottest planet in our solar system—with
surface temperatures hot enough to melt lead. Glimpses below the clouds reveal
volcanoes and deformed mountains.
If the sun were as tall as a typical front door, the Earth and Venus would each be
about the size of a nickel.
Venus orbits our Sun, a star. Venus is the second closest planet to the sun at a
distance of about 67 million miles (108 million km).
One day on Venus lasts 243 Earth days because Venus spins backwards, with its
sun rising in the west and setting in the east.
Venus' solid surface is a volcanic landscape covered with extensive plains
featuring high volcanic mountains and vast ridged plateaus.
Venus has no moons and no rings.
The planet’s surface temperature is about 900 degrees Fahrenheit (465 degrees
Celsius)—hot enough to melt lead.
Many scientists believe water once existed on the surface. Future Venus explorers
will search for evidence of an ancient ocean.
More than 40 spacecraft have explored Venus. The ‘90s Magellan mission mapped
the planet's surface and Akatsuki is currently orbiting Venus.
Venus’ extreme temperatures and acidic clouds make it an unlikely place for life as
we know it.
While the surface rotates slowly, the winds blow at hurricane force, sending clouds
completely around the planet every five days.
The Soviet Union’s Venera 13 survived the intense heat and crushing pressure of
Venus’ surface for more than two hours. Engineers from several nations are
currently studying methods to extend the life of robotic spacecraft in the extreme
environment.
Named after the goddess of love and beauty, Venus has become nearly
synonymous with "woman" in popular culture, as referenced by the famous
relationship guide Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. As a solar system
locale, Venus was a popular destination for early 20th century science fiction
writers; before we knew about what lay beneath Venus' mysterious cloud cover,
writers could speculate about a more hospitable planet and its possible inhabitants.
 EARTH
Our home planet. Habitable planet
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest in the solar system. Just
slightly larger than nearby Venus, Earth is the biggest of the terrestrial planets. Our
home planet is the only planet in our solar system known to harbor living things.
The name Earth is at least 1,000 years old. All of the planets, except for Earth,
were named after Greek and Roman gods and goddesses. However, the name Earth
is an English/German word, which simply means the ground.
Using human eyes, looking at Venus as it floats in space, would show that the
color is a yellowish white. Close up on the planet we would see the reddish-
brown surface.
If the Sun were as tall as a typical front door, Earth would be the size of a nickel.
Earth orbits our Sun, a star. Earth is the third planet from the Sun at a distance of
about 93 million miles (150 million km).
A day on Earth is 24 hours. Earth makes a complete orbit around the sun (a year in
Earth time) in about 365 days.
Earth is a rocky planet with a solid and dynamic surface of mountains, canyons,
plains and more. Most of our planet is covered in water.
Earth's atmosphere is 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen and 1 percent other
ingredients—the perfect balance to breathe and live.
Earth has one moon
Earth has no rings
Many orbiting spacecraft study the Earth from above as a whole system—
observing the atmosphere, ocean, glaciers, and the solid earth.
Earth is the perfect place for life as we know it.
Our atmosphere protects us from incoming meteoroids, most of which break up in
our atmosphere before they can strike the surface.
Earth: mostly blue with white clouds. Oceans and light scattered by the atmosphere
make Earth prevailingly blue. Depending on the area seen in an individual
picture, brown, yellow and greencontinents can be seen or parts of Earth can be
covered by white clouds.
The first being to travel to outer space was a female part-Samoyed terrier originally
named Kudryavka (Little Curly) but later renamed Laika (Barker).
Laika the dog was the first Earthling to orbit Earth aboard the Soviet Union's
Sputnik 2 in 1957. She did not survive the trip. A few years later, the next two
Soviet space dogs—Belka and Strelka—became the first living creatures to return
from space alive—paving the way for future human explorers.
 MARS
The red planet
A storm of tiny dust particles has engulfed much of Mars over the last two
weeks and prompted NASA’s Opportunity rover to suspend science operations.
But across the planet, NASA’s Curiosity rover, which has been studying Martian
soil at Gale Crater, is expected to remain largely unaffected by the dust. While
Opportunity is powered by sunlight, which is blotted out by dust at its current
location, Curiosity has a nuclear-powered battery that runs day and night.
The Martian dust storm has grown in size and is now officially a "planet-
encircling" (or "global") dust event.
The Opportunity and Curiosity rovers are part of an international fleet of spacecraft
exploring Mars from all angles. The lineup: Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Orbiter Mission, MAVEN and ExoMars Trace Gas
Orbiter. InSightand MarCo, the first CubeSats sent into Deep Space, are set to
arrive at Mars in November.
If the Sun were as tall as a typical front door, Earth would be the size of a dime,
and Mars would be about as big as an aspirin tablet.
One day on Mars takes a little over 24 hours. Mars makes a complete orbit around
the Sun (a year in Martian time) in 687 Earth days
Mars orbits our Sun, a star. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun at an average
distance of about 228 million km (142 million miles) or 1.52 AU.
Mars is a rocky planet. Its solid surface has been altered by volcanoes, impacts,
winds, crustal movement and chemical reactions.
Mars has a thin atmosphere made up mostly of carbon dioxide (CO2), argon (Ar),
nitrogen (N2), and a small amount of oxygen and water vapor
Mars has two moons named Phobos and Deimos.
There are no rings around Mars.
Several missions have visited this planet, from flybys and orbiters to rovers on the
surface.The first true Mars mission success was the Mariner 4 flyby in 1965.
At this time, Mars' surface cannot support life as we know it. Current missions are
determining Mars' past and future potential for life.
Mars is known as the Red Planet because iron minerals in the Martian soil oxidize,
or rust, causing the soil and atmosphere to look red.
No other planet has captured our collective imagination quite like Mars. In the late
1800s when people first observed the canal-like features on Mars' surface, many
speculated that an intelligent alien species resided there. This led to numerous
stories about Martians, some of whom invade Earth, like in the 1938 radio
drama, The War of the Worlds. According to an enduring urban legend, many
listeners believed the story to be real news coverage of an invasion, causing
widespread panic.
Countless stories since have taken place on Mars or explored the possibilities of its
Martian inhabitants. Movies like Total Recall(1990 and 2012) take us to a
terraformed Mars and a struggling colony running out of air. A Martian colony and
Earth have a prickly relationship in The Expanse television series and novels. And
in the 2014 novel and and its 2015 movie adaptation, The Martian, botanist Mark
Whatney is stranded alone on the planet and struggles to survive until a rescue
mission can retrieve him.