M ARS By Danny and Kenny

W HAT IS M ARS ? Mars is the fourth planet in the solar system. It’s nick named the “Red Planet” Reddish in color Named after the bloody red God of War of the Ancient Romans Terrestrial Planet

M AR ’ S O RBIT AND I NFO Orbit: 227, 940, 000 km (1.52 au) from sun Diameter: 6,794 km Mass: e23 kg Mars orbits the sun every 687 Earth days The thin atmosphere of Mars is made of mostly carbon dioxide In winter, nighttime temperatures on Mars can drop as low as -191°F Mars is the sight of the Olympus Moon, the highest known mountain in our solar system

M AR ’ S C REATION AND F ORMATION Mars is thought to be formed by the1% of matter left over from the formation of the sun, this could have been gas or small dust particles merging together to make sand then rocks then asteroid then eventually planetesimals.

M ARS S URFACE COMPARED TO E ARTH Surface of Mars seems to be mainly basalt covered by a fine layer of iron oxide dust that has the consistency of talcum powder No evidence for structural magnetic field

M ARS S URFACE F EATURES Surface Color: “Red” Features Impact Craters Largest volcano in the solar system (Olympus Mons) Largest Canyon in the Solar System (Valles Marineris) Ancient river channels Lava Rocks Dust: Reddish from volcanic rock Valles Marineris Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech

E ARTH AND M ARS C OMPARISON EarthMars Radius 6378 km 3397 km Density 5515 kg/m kg/m 3 Gravity 9.8 m/s m/s 2 Year days days Eccentricity Day 24 hours 24 hr 39 min Obliquity23.45º25.19º

H OW LONG WOULD IT TAKE TO REACH M ARS ? It would take about 214 Earth days to reach Mars However Scientists think that a Nuclear Rocket would shorten the travel time to four months

D ISCOVERY OF MARS The discovery of Mars was made on the first fly by in 1965 by the Mariner 4 Many speculated about the presence of water on Mars based on observed periodic variations in light and dark patches, which was mistakenly interpeted as liquid water on Mars

NASA’S M ARS E XPLORATION P ROGRAM The basic idea of this program it to find out if there was life on Mars NASA is doing this by following the water on mars The current future of the Mars Exploration Program are the Maven, ExoMars, and the Mars 2018 Mission

I S THERE W ATER ON M ARS ? Water is the key to life as we know it The north and south poles of Mars are covered with thick ice or frost Some astronomers about 100 years ago thought there were canals on Mars dug by intelligent civilization Space probes to date have not found any traces of canals on Mars

C URRENT E VENTS I N NASA In 1996 NASA, while studying the ALH meteorite of Martian origin found in Antarctica in 1984, announced that fossilized micro- organisms from Mars might be present in it. Mars Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity) explore Mars surface to see it there is life and/or water on Mars Mars has three functional orbiting spacecraft: Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiterspacecraft: Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

W ORKS CITED Works Cited Magazine, Popular Mechanics. "Planet Mars - the Red Planet." Space Projects - Space Information - Space Shop. Web. 07 Feb "Mars Facts." Kid's Cosmos-Science Resources for Teachers and Students. Web. 07 Feb "Mars L Mars Facts, Pictures and Information." The Nine Planets Solar System Tour. Web. 07 Feb "Mars, the Red Planet." Astronomy Today. Web. 07 Feb