2. On to MARS MbeesNational College Iasi Laura Baciu Claudia Tugui

3. Physical characteristics Mars has approximately half the radius of Earth. It is less dense than Earth, having about 15% of Earth's volume and 11% of the mass. Its surface area is only slightly less than the total area of Earth's dry land. Mars is 4,5 billion years old. MbeesNational College Iasi

4. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. MbeesNational College Iasi

5. MbeesNational College Iasi

6. Martian surface MbeesNational College Iasi

7. The atmosphere on Mars consists of 95% CO₂, 3% nitrogen, 1.6% argon and contains traces of O₂ and water. Martian surface temperatures varies from lows of -87 °C during the polar winters to highs of up to -5 °C in summers. MbeesNational College Iasi

8. Polar caps Mars has two permanent polar ice caps. During a pole's winter, it lies in continuous darkness, chilling the surface and causing 25–30% of the atmosphere to condense out into thick dry ice. MbeesNational College Iasi

9. Moons Mars also has two tiny natural moons, Phobos and Deimos, which orbit very close to the planet. Both satellites were discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall. MbeesNational College Iasi

10. Current missions In 2001 NASA launched the successful Mars Odyssey orbiter, which was still in orbit and the ending date has been extended to September 2010. In 2003, the European Space Agency launched the Mars Express craft, consisting in the Mars Express Orbiter and the lander Beagle 2. MbeesNational College Iasi

11. Beagle 2 failed during descent and was declared lost in early February 2004. After that, NASA launched the twin Mars Exploration Rovers named Spirit (MER-A) and Opportunity (MER-B). Both missions landed successfully in January 2004 and have met or exceeded all their targets. Mbees National College Iasi

12. Spirit landing on Mars MbeesNational College Iasi

13. Facts about Mars  A hundred pound¹ man on Earth would only weigh 38 pounds² on Mars.  It takes 687 Earth days for Mars to make one orbit around the Sun.  A day on Mars last just longer than an Earth day at 24h 39’ 35”. ___________ ¹ 45 kg ² 17 kg Mbees National College Iasi

14. Mars is home to the largest mountain in our Solar System. It is called Olympus Mons and it rises 15.5 miles ³ into the sky and is 372 miles ⁴ across. ___________ ³ 25 km ⁴ 599 km Mbees National College Iasi

15. NASANASA photographs 'trees' on Mars MbeesNational College Iasi The images seem to show rows of dark ‘trees’ sprouting from dunes and hills on the planet surface. But the scene is actually an optical illusion.

16. The photographs actually show sand dunes coated with a thin layer of frozen CO₂ or dry ice, less than 240 miles ⁵ from the planet's north pole. The ‘trees’ are really trails of debris caused by landslides as ice melts in Mars's spring. You can even see a cloud of dust, just to the left of centre of the picture, where an avalanche is caught happening. ___________ ⁵ 386 km National College Iasi

17. The ‘Trees’ MbeesNational College Iasi

18. Mars 500 Soon six men from Russia, Europe and China are preparing to spend 500 days together in a sealed-off warren to take a simulated trip to Mars to test how long isolation would affect humans. MbeesNational College Iasi

19. The six men, allowed just 3 m² of "personal space" each. Communication with Earth will be only via e-mail, with connections occasionally disrupted. It will include a maximum 40 minutes, as on a real Mars mission. MbeesNational College Iasi