Mars is know as the “red planet” because of the iron oxide or some call it rust. It is also the closest planet to earth at only 0.06au away. It is approximately 1.06au from the sun. There has been 2 rovers that have examined the surface, one is still going but the second one died. A third rover was recently sent and should arrive in about 7 months. The rovers that have been on the Surface have found many interesting facts. They have found some minerals that have only been found in water so they have reason to think that there was water a long time ago. They also have fount a huge canyon. Mars is known to be named after the roman god mars who is the god of war. The planet is also ranked 7th in size within our solar system. The first people to see mars was back in prehistoric times.
Climate & Temperature
The seasons of Mars are the most Earth-like, due to the similar tilts of the two planets rotational axes. The seasons of mars last for about 2x longer then earths. The average temperature is −87 °C during the polar winters to highs of up to −5 °C in their summers. The in-consistent temperature is because of a thin atmosphere which cannot store much solar heat. Mars also can have huge dust storms due to great winds. These storms can last for great times.
Moons
Mars has two small moons named Phosbos and Deimos which orbit close to the planet. Both moons were founded in 1877 by Asaph Hall and are named after the characters Phobos which means panic/fear, and Deimos which means terror/dread, who, in Greek Mythology, accompanied their father Ares the god of war or in roman Mars. Scientists think that the moons are asteroids that have been captured in the orbit. Phobos is the bigger of the two and it is also closer. Phobos in approximately 7.24 the size of Deimos. Phobos orbits about 9,377 km from the center of mars. Deimos's dimensions are 15 × 12.2 × 10.4 km. Deimos is composed of rock rich in carbonaceous material
History & Missions
The first successful fly-by of Mars was on July 14–15, 1965, by NASA's Mariner 4 and on November 14, 1971 Mariner 9 became the first space probe to orbit another planet when it entered into orbit around Mars. There have also been two successful rover landings on mars. The Soviet probes Phobos 1 and 2 were sent to Mars in 1988 to study Mars and its two moons. Phobos 1 lost contact on the way to Mars. Phobos 2, successfully started photographing Mars and Phobos. In 2008, NASA told everyone that MAVEN which is a robot is going to be sent on a mission in 2013 to provide information about the atmosphere of Mars and in 2018 the ESA plans to launch its first Rover to Mars. In the 1960's there was 13 mission attempts to get to Mars and 11 in the 1970's. NASA has planned to send a man to Mars by 2035 and ESA think they should have a living person on the surface by 2030.
<Mariner 9Phobos 2spirit the rover
Orbit & Rotation
Mars orbital period is 687 Earth days. The solar day on Mars is only a bit longer than an Earth day it is 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds. A year on mars is equal to 1.8809 Earth years, or 1 year, 320 days, and 18.2 hours.Mars's axial tilt is 25.19 degrees, which is really close to the axial tilt of the Earth, this is why earth and mars have similar seasons.
MARS
Mars is know as the “red planet” because of the iron oxide or some call it rust. It is also the closest planet to earth at only 0.06au away. It is approximately 1.06au from the sun. There has been 2 rovers that have examined the surface, one is still going but the second one died. A third rover was recently sent and should arrive in about 7 months. The rovers that have been on the Surface have found many interesting facts. They have found some minerals that have only been found in water so they have reason to think that there was water a long time ago. They also have fount a huge canyon. Mars is known to be named after the roman god mars who is the god of war. The planet is also ranked 7th in size within our solar system. The first people to see mars was back in prehistoric times.
Climate & Temperature
The seasons of Mars are the most Earth-like, due to the similar tilts of the two planets rotational axes. The seasons of mars last for about 2x longer then earths. The average temperature is −87 °C during the polar winters to highs of up to −5 °C in their summers. The in-consistent temperature is because of a thin atmosphere which cannot store much solar heat. Mars also can have huge dust storms due to great winds. These storms can last for great times.
Moons
Mars has two small moons named Phosbos and Deimos which orbit close to the planet. Both moons were founded in 1877 by Asaph Hall and are named after the characters Phobos which means panic/fear, and Deimos which means terror/dread, who, in Greek Mythology, accompanied their father Ares the god of war or in roman Mars. Scientists think that the moons are asteroids that have been captured in the orbit. Phobos is the bigger of the two and it is also closer. Phobos in approximately 7.24 the size of Deimos. Phobos orbits about 9,377 km from the center of mars. Deimos's dimensions are 15 × 12.2 × 10.4 km. Deimos is composed of rock rich in carbonaceous material
History & Missions
The first successful fly-by of Mars was on July 14–15, 1965, by NASA's Mariner 4 and on November 14, 1971 Mariner 9 became the first space probe to orbit another planet when it entered into orbit around Mars. There have also been two successful rover landings on mars. The Soviet probes Phobos 1 and 2 were sent to Mars in 1988 to study Mars and its two moons. Phobos 1 lost contact on the way to Mars. Phobos 2, successfully started photographing Mars and Phobos. In 2008, NASA told everyone that MAVEN which is a robot is going to be sent on a mission in 2013 to provide information about the atmosphere of Mars and in 2018 the ESA plans to launch its first Rover to Mars. In the 1960's there was 13 mission attempts to get to Mars and 11 in the 1970's. NASA has planned to send a man to Mars by 2035 and ESA think they should have a living person on the surface by 2030.
Orbit & Rotation
Mars orbital period is 687 Earth days. The solar day on Mars is only a bit longer than an Earth day it is 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds. A year on mars is equal to 1.8809 Earth years, or 1 year, 320 days, and 18.2 hours.Mars's axial tilt is 25.19 degrees, which is really close to the axial tilt of the Earth, this is why earth and mars have similar seasons.
http://www.windows2universe.org/mars/mars_orbit.html-this is the animation of how Earth and Mars orbit.
FUN FACTS