1. Craters on Mars Many craters Closer to asteroid belt No water erosion
Older surface
Cratering is not uniform
More in southern hemisphere

2. Southern Cratered Terrain
Comparable to Lunar Highlands
More worn down

3. Erosion of Craters

4. Regions on Mars Q. 39: Age of Mars Regions Southern Hemisphere
Heavily Cratered
Northern Hemisphere
Medium Craters
Tharsis Region
Fewest Craters
Q. 39: Age of Mars Regions

5. The Tharsis Region Elevated region Volcanic outflows Volcanoes nearby
Probably extinct
So large they can be seen easily from space

6. Olympus Mons Giant Volcano Largest Mountain in Solar System
Top sticks out of atmosphere

7. Olympus Mons Three times taller than Mt. Everest
Bigger than North Carolina

8. Olympus Mons
Q. 40: Mars’s Volcanoes

9. Mars Volcanoes Smaller planets cool more quickly
Mars probably has no active volcanoes now
But it did within past billion years or so

10. Mars Composition Mars has virtually no global magnetic field
No protection for life from cosmic rays
Internal Structure:
Crust, thicker than Earth (?)
Mantle, most of the volume
Solid core near the center

11. Valles Marineris Largest Valley in the Solar System
As big across as USA
Crack caused by weight of Tharsis Bulge

12. Valles Marineris

13. Candor Chasma

14. The Polar Caps on Mars Carbon dioxide (dry ice) layer on top
Water ice underneath

15. The Northern Polar Cap Size of cap changes seasonally
Carbon dioxide evaporating and refreezing
Causes large change in atmospheric pressure (50%)

16. Global Dust Storms Atmosphere flow causes huge dust storms
Can envelope entire planet

17. Clouds on Mars

18. Dust Devils on Mars
Mini-tornadoes
Leave tracks across surface

19. Sand Dunes on Mars

20. Water on Mars
Current pressure slightly too low for liquid water to form
Mars Phoenix confirmed there is permafrost near poles
We also have seen frost on the ground
Was there liquid water on the surface in the past?

21. Past Evidence of Water

22. Craters and Evidence for Water
Some craters look like they were made in mud
Teardrop shaped islands look like terrestrial islands in rivers

23. Dried up Lakes

24. Water-based Minerals “Blueberries” are hematite
Mineral normally only forms in water
Strong evidence of past water

25. Civilization on Mars!
Cydonia Region
The Face
Natural Features

26. Life on Mars! Mars has water – could it have life?
A meteorite found in 1984 is one of several known to have come from Mars
This meteorite contained what some thought were fossilized bacteria
Scientists divided

27. Life on Mars? The conditions on Mars are rather different from Earth
Mostly colder temperatures
No oxygen, low air pressure
No liquid water
No large form of life on Earth survives these conditions
But some bacteria on Earth live in similar conditions!
What would life on Mars look like?
Bacterial, too small to see without a microscope
Probably live well below the surface (cosmic rays)
Water-based

28. Mars Moons Two small moons Phobos Deimos Probably captured asteroids
Phobos the size of Winston-Salem

29. Jupiter and Saturn Images Spectacular ring system
Complex striped appearance

30. Jupiter and Saturn – How we know
Pioneer 11 and 12 (flyby ’73-’74)
Voyager 1 and 2 (flyby ’79)
Galileo (orbiter ’95–’03)
Galileo probe (’95)
Cassini (flyby, ’00)
New Horizons (flyby, ’07)
Juno Mission (orbiter since ’16)
Telescopes (ongoing)
Saturn:
Pioneer 11 (flyby ’79)
Voyager 1 and 2 (flyby ’80 – ’81)
Cassini (orbiter ’04–’17)
Huygens (probe ’05)
Telescopes (ongoing)

31. Past Spacecraft at Jupiter
Galileo
Galileo Probe
Galileo spacecraft orbited Jupiter
Galileo probe parachuted into Jupiter’s atmosphere
New Horizons on way to Pluto
New Horizons

32. Current and Future Missions to Jupiter
Juno
Juno mission in orbit since 2016
Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer launches in 2022
Europa Clipper in 2025
JUICE
Europa Clipper

33. Spacecraft at Saturn Voyager 1 and 2 Cassini Huygens on Titan
Voyagers flew past
Cassini in orbit
Huygens probe went to surface of Titan
Huygens on Titan

34. Jupiter and Saturn – Size and Mass
Size – 11  Earth (Jupiter) and 9  Earth (Saturn)
Mass – 318  Earth (Jupiter) and 95  Earth (Saturn)
Jupiter significantly less dense than Earth
Saturn much less dense than Earth
Orbits:
5.2 AU, 9.6 AU
12 years, 29 years