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Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is commonly referred
to as the Red Planet. The rocks and soil have a red or pink hue
due to the iron oxiode (rust) they contain.
Hubble Telescope Picture of Mars
Valles Marineris, or
Mariner Valley, is a vast
canyon system that
runs along the Martian
equator. Valles
Marineris is 2500 miles
long and reaches
depths of up to 4 miles.
Gigantic Canyon
Like Earth, Mars has seasonal changes but the seasons last much
longer. In Winter, Mars polar ice cap can reach down to 45
degrees latitude and then rapidly shrink during Spring. Dust storms
are seasonal, also, as witnessed in this Hubble image.
Earth/Mars Comparison
Mars Earth
Distance from Sun 141.6 Million Miles 93 Million Miles
Diameter 4222 Miles 7926 Miles
Length of Year 687 Earth Days 365.25 Days
Length of Day 24 hours 37 minutes 23 hours 56 minutes
Gravity .375 that of Earth 2.66 times that of Mars
Temperature Average -81 degrees F Average 57 degrees F
Temperature Range -127 C to 17 C -88 C to 58 C
Number of Moons 2 1
Mars, the god of War
Mars Pathfinder was the first instrumented lander and robotic rover to study
the surface of Mars. Findings from the investigations carried out by scientific
instruments on both the lander and the rover suggest that Mars was at one time
in its past warm and wet, with water existing in its liquid state and a thicker
atmosphere.
Mars Exploration Rovers
Opportunitys spectrometer
and microscopic imager
found that rocks near the
lower slopes of Endurance
Crater were affected by
water both before and after
the crater formed.
Future Exploration of Mars
Though no concrete plans are underway for a manned Mars visit early in
the next century, several studies have been launched to investigate
possibilities for such visits following possible unmanned missions.