It is easy to forget that Earth is not the only planet in the solar system. None of these planets are closer to or more involved in the imagination than Mars. The planet looks like our home in many ways, though instead of blue oceans and green lands, Mars is home to the ubiquitous red hue.
It has mountain ranges, volcanic fields, valleys, ice sheets, canyons, and deserts. It has numerous craters, including one, discovered in 2008, measuring more than 10,000 kilometers long and almost 9,000 kilometers wide. It is by far the largest crater ever discovered.
However, when you look beyond the surface differences, the two planets are similar in many ways. Mars has both a North and a South Pole, as does Earth. Like Earth, both poles are made up mostly of frozen water.
The origin of the planet’s name
The planet was named after the Roman god of war – Mars. It is associated with its rusty-red color, which in ancient times was associated with the conflagration of war.
Moons of Mars
Mars has two moons, Deimos and Phobos. They were discovered by the American Asaph Hall on August 12 and 18, 1877. Their names were taken from characters from Greek mythology. Being the sons of Ares and Aphrodite, Deimos personifies fear and Phobos personifies fear. In fact, these natural satellites are not typical moons, they were intercepted by Mars being pulled as asteroids.
The Age
Scientists estimate that Mars will have one moon in about 30-50 million years. According to their hypothesis, Phobos will decay, as a result of which a ring will form around the planet or it will crash into its surface.
Temperature on Mars
The average temperature on the Red Planet is around -55 degrees Celsius. In winter, it even drops to -130 degrees Celsius, and in summer the mercury shows 27 degrees Celsius. In one day, the temperature can drop from 20 degrees to -90.
Mars – the apple of NASA’s eye
For many years, Mars has been the apple of the eye of NASA scientists. On November 26, 2011, the groundbreaking mission began, which sent the Curiosity rover towards the red planet. The robot landed on August 6, 2012. The main assumption of the mission was to determine the living conditions in the future, to perform meteorological measurements and to study soil composition. One of the most important discoveries of the Curiosity rover was the finding of traces that rivers were supposed to flow on the Red Planet in the past. Later, the existence of liquid water was found.
Mars is closest to Earth
Out of all the planets of the solar system, it is the conditions on Mars that are most similar to our terrestrial ones. The day is slightly longer as it takes 40 minutes longer. There are also four seasons here.
Alien civilization on Mars
Yes, Mars is currently inhabited by an alien civilization. Robot civilization. The planet’s only inhabitants are the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers. There are also two inactive robots, Spirit and Sojourner.
Mars as a place of life for humans
Although it sounded unbelievable several decades ago, today the only question is “when will a man stand on Mars?”. Due to the similar conditions on Mars, it is considered a future place where people will live. To this end, the planet must be terraformed by heating it and increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Mars One mission
This is a private venture of Bas Lansdorp from Holland, which is supposed to create a human colony on Mars. The start of the project took place in 2011, and according to the plan, the first man is to land on Mars in 2032. In total, Lansdorp wants to send one hundred thousand people to the Red Planet. Participants have been selected since 2013, including three Poles. The lucky “hundred” received a one-way ticket from the Dutchman, once they reach Mars, they will stay there for the rest of their lives. It is estimated that the cost of reaching the first four daredevils will cost $ 6 billion.
Powerful sandstorms
As previously mentioned, the atmospheric conditions on Mars are similar to those known on Earth. However, they are still quite extreme. Quite an interesting phenomenon are sandstorms that can last up to a month. Sometimes they even cover the entire surface of the Red Planet, they are the strongest sandstorms in the entire solar system. They usually occur when Mars is closest to the sun. Then the temperature rises.
Equivalent to Mount Everest
The highest peak of our planet is Mount Everest, but compared to the largest peak on Mars, it is only a miniature. Olympus Mons is the highest known mountain in the Solar System, rising to a height of 21,229 meters above sea level. The mountain is an extinct shield volcano, its height is due to the fact that there are no tectonic plates on the Red Planet. For this reason, lava came out much longer than from “our” volcanoes. Scientists estimate that the last eruptions of Olympus Mons occurred 100-200 million years ago.
Martian day
The good on this planet is slightly longer than the earths. It takes 24 hours and 37 minutes. However, the year is much longer and lasts 687 days.
Distance of Earth from Mars
The distance between these planets is constantly changing as they orbit at different speeds. According to the astronomical atlas, the distance is 78,338,376 km. However, on August 27, 2003, these planets were brought closer together in the last 60,000 years. This distance was and then “only” 55 758 006 km.
**INTERESTING FACTS**
- There are hundreds of thousands of craters on Mars as a result of numerous meteor strikes. Most of them have names inspired by the names of famous scientists or science fiction authors. As a rule, craters with a diameter of less than 60 kilometers are named after cities on Earth. There you can find Dutch Amsterdam, Thai Kantang, or Polish Rypin, Grójec, Puńsk and Rypin.
- The first written records about the planet record comes from 2nd millennium BC, and were made by Egyptian astronomers
- Mars is a very rocky planet.
- The Red Planet also has the largest canyon in the solar system called Valles Marineris. Its origin is not fully known, although some scientists say that it was created as a result of the cooling of the planet. Its length is about 5,000 kilometers, width about 200 kilometers, and the average depth is 5-8 kilometers (sometimes up to 11 kilometers).
- It is the fourth planet of the Solar System in terms of distance from the Sun. 230 million kilometers – that is the distance between Mars and the Sun.
- The first Mars images were sent on December 2, 1971 from the Soviet Mars 3 lander.
- Mars is called the Red Planet because of its red color caused by iron oxides.
- In terms of conditions, Mars is closest to Earth. A day on this planet is only 40 minutes longer. There are also four seasons of the year. It is for this reason that Mars has become the apple of NASA’s eye. In 2011, the Americans sent the Curiosity rover to this planet, which was to study the conditions for life on the red planet.
- The only planet inhabited by an alien civilization is Mars. Its only inhabitants are the rover Curiosity and Opportunity.
- The planet can be easily seen from Earth. The only brighter points in the sky are the Sun, Moon, Venus, and Jupiter.
- Formerly it was said that the Earth is the center of the universe, and Mars is only one of the five stars that revolves around it.
- Mars has been known from the earliest times. The Babylonians referred to this planet as Nergalem, which translated means “Death Star”. It was related to its red color. It was believed then that this color is related to the amount of blood.
- The first person to observe this planet through a telescope was Galileo (1609).
- The name of the Curiosity rover was reported in 2009 by a 12-year-old resident of Kansas. Clara Ma’s proposal turned out to be the best of 9,000 submissions.
- The American film production, Gravity, absorbed about $ 100 million. This is more than the Indian mission to launch a probe into Mars orbit ($ 75 million).
- The sunsets on Mars are blue.
- If one day you were on Mars, your body weight would be over 60% less than on Earth.
- With so much water frozen in the ice caps of Mars, some scientists believe that life might one day exist there.
- A typical Mars year is 687 days. While a year on Mars can be almost twice as long as a year on Earth, the length of the day is almost the same. A Martian’s day lasts 24 hours and 39 minutes, which is roughly an hour longer than a day on Earth.
- Mars also has seasons like Earth. These seasons are much longer because Mars is much further from the sun.
- Mars is often dust storms with fast winds. These dust storms are driven by the sun and can grow to enormous sizes, sending miles of dust into the atmosphere and covering most of the planet. Some storms are so large that amateur astronomers on Earth can see them.
- Pieces of Mars have been found on Earth. Traces of the Martian atmosphere are believed to be within the meteorites ejected by the planet. These meteorites surrounded the solar system for millions of years between other solar objects and debris before finally entering the Earth’s atmosphere and hitting the ground. Studying this material allowed scientists to learn more about Mars before embarking on space missions. We present important information and interesting facts about the planet Mars.
- Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second smallest planet in the solar system. Named after the Roman god of war, Mars is also often referred to as the “Red Planet” because of its reddish appearance. Mars is a planet with a thin atmosphere made up mostly of carbon dioxide.
- It is a cold desert world and the fourth planet from the sun. It is half the diameter of the Earth and the same amount of dry land. Like Earth, Mars has seasons, polar ice caps, volcanoes, canyons, and weather, but its atmosphere is too thin for liquid water to exist on its surface for long.
- Since Mars has less gravity than Earth, you would weigh 62% less than on Earth. What is the heaviest thing you have ever picked up? On Mars, you could lift more than double that.
- There are signs of ancient floods on the Red Planet. Several ships dispatched from the ground noticed traces of ancient water – channels and rocks that could only form in the presence of water.
- Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is located approximately 227,940,000 km from the Sun.
- Only 16 of the 39 Mars missions were successful. Starting with Mars 1M, which was launched in 1960, 39 devices have landed on Mars, but only 16 have been successful.
- Mars was once considered the home of intelligent life. This was due to the discovery of lines or grooves in the surface called channels by Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli. He believed that they are not naturally occurring and are evidence of intelligent living. Later, however, it turned out to be an optical illusion.
- The highest known mountain on a planet in the solar system is on Mars. Olympus Mons is a volcano 21 km high and 600 km in diameter that was formed billions of years ago. Scientists have found much recent evidence of volcanic lava that suggests Olympus Mons may still be active.
- Mars is about half the size of Earth.
- In 1997, three Yemen men attempted to sue NASA for an illegal attack on Mars. The gentlemen agreed that they inherited this planet from their ancestors over 3,000 years ago.
- Mars has its own – unofficial – flag. The pennant to represent this planet consists of three vertical stripes in the colors – red, green, and blue. The red color symbolizes the present state of the planet, while the green and blue colors refer to its future, i.e., after the terraforming process has been carried out.
- Are you complaining about the price list of the Polish Post? You will stop from now on. According to NASA, the cost of sending the letter to Mars would cost $ 18,000.
- More than 4 billion years ago, 19% of the planet’s surface was covered by the ocean.
- The largest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest but compared to the largest mountain in the Solar System, it is merely a hill. Olympus Mons on Mars rises to an altitude of 21,229 meters above sea level.
- Mars is the fourth planet of the solar system. It orbits between Jupiter and the Earth at an average distance of 229 million kilometers from the Sun.
- Mars has two moons – Phobos and Deimos. Deimos is smaller (12.6 km in diameter) than Phobos (22.2 km in diameter). Both were discovered by the American astronomer Asaph Hall.
- According to research, in about 50 million years, Phobos will come so close to the surface of Mars that it will either fall to its surface or be torn apart by the planet’s tidal forces.
- A year on Mars lasts 687 Earth days.
- The temperature amplitude on the surface of Mars is much greater than on Earth. Temperatures on the red globe range between -143 ° C and 35 ° C
- The gravity on Mars is 62.5% of the Earth’s.
- Mars’s atmosphere is over 100 times rarer than Earth’s. It consists of 95.32% carbon dioxide, 2.7% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, 0.13% oxygen and 0.08% carbon monoxide. Additionally, the Martian atmosphere also includes: water, nitrogen oxide, neon, krypton, and xenon.
- Over 3.5 billion years ago, Mars had water flowing. When the Martian atmosphere was denser, there was liquid water on the planet’s surface. Thanks to observations from orbit, it was possible to locate the remains of river beds and water reservoirs.
- According to research, the surface of Mars is made up mainly of toleite and basalt.
- The core of the planet has a diameter of 1,480 km. It consists predominantly of iron and approximately 14–17% sulfur. The Martian core is partially liquid.
- In the geological history of Mars, we can distinguish three basic periods: Noachian, Hesperian and Amazonian.
- The Noakhian period is the oldest in the geological history of Mars. It began between 4.1 and 3.8 billion years ago. During this period, the planet’s surface was frequently bombarded, erosion progressed rapidly, and river valleys were formed. At that time, the Tharsis volcanic plateau was formed, which could have changed the axis of rotation of Mars. The then prevailing climate was humid and warm. There were rivers on the surface and there were lakes. There may have been a deep ocean in the northern hemisphere, but it did not survive into the Hesperian period. A characteristic area for this period is Noachis Terra.
- There may have been an ocean on Mars during the Hesperian period when the Great Bombardment was taking place. During this period, the great volcano Olympus Mons began to form. This is the period of cooling down of the planet during which it has lost most of its atmosphere. Research by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft indicates that there were lakes on the planet’s surface during the Hesperian period. This period lasted from 3.7 to 3 billion years ago. A characteristic area for this period is the Hesperia Planum.
- Mars has 2 permanent polar ice caps. The northern polar cap has a diameter of 1,100 km and the southern cap 400 km. They mainly consist of plain ice and dry ice (solid carbon dioxide).
- Due to the low atmospheric pressure, which is less than 1% of the earth’s pressure, no liquid water can exist on the surface of Mars.
- If all the ice in the planet’s polar caps were to be melted, the water would cover its entire surface with a layer of 11 meters.
- Mars has the largest dust storms in the Solar System that can cover the entire planet and last for months.
- The largest impact crater on Mars is the Hellas crater, known as Hellas Planitia. It is 2,300 kilometers in diameter and 9 kilometers deep. Inside the crater is a much smaller impact crater, which is the lowest point on the planet’s surface.
- The largest canyon both on Mars and in the entire solar system is Valles Marineris, which extends 4,000 km, is 200 km wide and 10 km deep. The canyon is located just below the Martian equator.
- On the surface of Mars is the extinct volcano Olympus Mons. It is the largest known mountain in the solar system so far. Its height is 21,229 m and the diameter at the base is 624 km. It is a shield volcano, i.e., one that was formed as a result of prolonged and slow lava leakage.
- So far, 5 rovers have successfully landed on the surface of Mars.
- The first successful landing mission to Mars was the Sojourner rover. The landing took place on July 4, 1997 and the rover managed to send 550 photos to Earth and conduct a chemical analysis of Martian rocks.
- In January 2004, two rovers: Spirit and Opportunity landed on the surface of Mars. The planned mission length of both rovers was 90 Martian days, but both worked much longer. Thanks to the research of the rovers, it was confirmed that there was water on Mars in the past. In March 2010, communication with Spirit was lost and Opportunity worked until June 2018, when his work was disrupted by a heavy dust storm.
- On August 6, 2012, the largest rover to date – Curiosity – landed on the surface of Mars. The device weighing 899 kg is a self-propelled research laboratory with a wide range of applications. Curiosity studies the geological history of the planet, in particular the influence of water on surface shaping and life development.
- At the turn of July and August 2020, another mission was launched towards Mars. There was a Perseverance rover on board. The successful landing took place on February 18, 2021 at the Jezero Crater, which long ago was a Martian lake.
- As Mars approaches the Sun, the planet moves towards it in its southern hemisphere, causing a short and hot summer for Martian conditions. Meanwhile, there is a short but cold Martian winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
- When the planet is far from the Sun, it is aligned with the northern hemisphere towards it, thanks to which a long and mild summer lasts there. On the other side of the globe, it is a long and cold Martian winter.
- Mars could become the ring-holder in about 50 million years. When Phobos disintegrates, its larger moon remains from this event could form a ring that would last more than 100 million years.
- During the Amazon period, which is the youngest in the geological history of the planet, volcanic activity decreased tenfold compared to the Hesperian period. During this time, the polar caps and glacial deposits on Martian volcanoes developed on Mars. Amazonis Planitia is a characteristic area for this period. The Amazon period began 3 billion ago and continues today.
- Mars has a much higher iron content in its crust and mantle than does Earth. As atmospheric oxygen reacted with iron on the planet’s surface, Mars gained its characteristic color and the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere decreased.
