MARS
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Numbers
Type: Rocky planet
Size (diameter): 6791 km, or about half the size of Earth
Mass: 6.417 × 1023 kg, or about 10% the mass of Earth
Length of a year (orbital period): 687 days
Number of moons: Two Phobos and Deimos
Average distance from the Sun: 227,939,200 km
Temperature: between -140 and 30 degrees Celsius
Historical Review
Because of its red appearance in the night sky, many ancient civilizations associated Mars with war. In English, the word "Tuesday" is derived from the Norse god Tyr, who is the equivalent of Mars, the Roman god of war.
Atmosphere
Mars has a thin atmosphere made up mostly of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon gases. To our eyes, the sky would be hazy and red because of suspended dust. because of thin atmosphere heat from the Sun easily escapes this planet. Winds on mars are strong enough to create strong dust storms.
Surface
Mars is known as the "red planet" due to its reddish hue caused by oxidized iron (or rust) on the planet's surface.
The tallest mountain in the entire solar system, Olympus Mons, is on Mars. This extinct volcano is nearly 22 km tall – roughly two and a half times the height of Mount Everest.
Valles Marineris is a massive canyon system that stretches over 3,000 km across Mars's surface – about the distance between Montreal and Calgary! Plunging about 8 km deep, and often referred to as "the Grand Canyon of Mars," Valles Marineris makes the red planet home to the largest known canyon in the solar system.
Sites
Hellas Planitia
The largest visible impact basin in the Solar System, and hosts the lowest elevations on Mars' surface.
Phoenix Lander
Lander on which phoenix, the resilient mythological bird, landed farther north than any previous mission.
Olympus Mons
The largest volcanoes among all known volcanoes in the solar system
Alba Patra
It recently known as Alba Mons, is a large shield volcano with notably well-preserved lava flows visible on its surface.