Mars!

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, and the seventh largest. It’s the only planet we know of inhabited entirely by robots! The surface of Mars is orange-red because it is covered in iron(III) oxide dust, giving it the nickname “the Red Planet”. Mars hosts many enormous extinct volcanoes and one of the largest canyons in the Solar System.

Gravity: 3.71 m/s²

Orbital period: 687 days

Length of day: 1d 0h 37m

Radius: 3,389.5 km

Distance from Sun: 227.9 million km

Coordinates: RA 19h 47m 43s | Dec -22° 1′ 44″

Moons: Phobos, Deimos

This is a LIVE video of Mars from NASA that I screen-recorded! This resource allows learners to explore tools such as the planet size comparison (I show in this video!!), distance between planets, and explorations that have occurred on Mars!

Mars is like the solar system’s adventure playground! It’s the only place where our cool robot rovers get to explore. NASA found clues that Mars used to be way wetter and warmer, with a thicker atmosphere, billions of years ago. The name “Mars” comes from the Romans, who thought its reddish color looked like blood, naming it after their god of war. The Egyptians called it “Her Desher,” meaning “the red one.” Even today, we still call it the “Red Planet” because the dirt on Mars has a lot of iron that rusts, making everything look red.

Size and Distance

Having a radius of 2,106 miles (3,390 kilometers), Mars is roughly half the size of Earth. To put it in perspective, if Earth were the size of a nickel, Mars would be comparable to a raspberry. Situated at an average distance of 142 million miles (228 million kilometers) from the Sun, Mars is positioned 1.5 astronomical units away. An astronomical unit (abbreviated as AU) is the distance between the Sun and Earth. Within this span, it takes sunlight approximately 13 minutes to make the journey from the Sun to Mars.

Orbit and Rotation

As Mars travels around the Sun, it completes a full rotation approximately every 24.6 hours, quite similar to Earth’s day, which lasts 23.9 hours. These Martian days are known as “sols,” a term derived from “solar day.” A Martian year spans 669.6 sols, equivalent to 687 Earth days. Mars tilts on its axis by 25 degrees concerning the plane of its orbit around the Sun, resembling Earth’s axial tilt of 23.4 degrees. This tilt results in distinctive seasons on Mars, although they endure for a more extended period compared to Earth due to Mars’ greater orbital distance. Unlike Earth, where seasons evenly last for three months (or a quarter of the year), Mars experiences varying season lengths because of its elliptical, egg-shaped orbit around the Sun. In the northern hemisphere (southern autumn), spring is the lengthiest season at 194 sols. On the other hand, autumn in the northern hemisphere (southern spring) is the shortest, lasting for 142 sols. The northern winter/southern summer spans 154 sols, while the northern summer/southern winter extends over 178 sols.

Moons

Phobos, Mars’ innermost and more substantial moon, displays a terrain marked by numerous craters and deep grooves. Gradually, it is approaching Mars and is anticipated to collide with the planet or disintegrate in approximately 50 million years.

In contrast, Deimos, which is roughly half the size of Phobos, orbits Mars at a distance two and a half times greater. Deimos has an unusual shape and is covered in loose soil, often filling its craters, resulting in a smoother appearance compared to the pitted surface of Phobos.

Exploration

This is a table taken directly from NASA. “No planet beyond Earth has been studied as intensely as Mars.”

This is crazy footage of Mars! https://science.nasa.gov/mars/

https://science.nasa.gov/mars/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars

https://science.nasa.gov/mars/facts/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/mars-1