Mars, The Red Planet
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, coming right after Earth. Mars is 141,600,000 miles from the Sun, and although its position to Earth changes, is 34 million miles away from Earth when it is nearest to our planet. In the picture below, you can see that Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.
Why is Mars Red?
Mars is often called the red planet. It is red because its surface is made of iron oxide. Iron oxide is also the main ingredient found in rust, so Mars is very similar in color to rust. Below is a picture showing a rusty piece of metal. Mars is the same color.
What Makes up Mars?
Like Venus and Earth, Mars has a core, mantle, and crust. However, Mars has a very dusty surface that is covered in iron oxide. Look at what Mars is made of below. The second photo is a photo that shows what Mars' surface looks like.
How big is Mars?
Mars is a rather small planet. It is about half of the size of the Earth. Take a look at the image below that compares he size of Earth and Mars.
Does Mars have an Atmosphere?
Mars has a very thin atmosphere. This allows large amounts of the Sun's radiation to hit Mars . Also, large amounts of heat leaves Mars easily because its thin atmosphere does not act as an insulator. This causes temperatures to fluctuate (change) rapidly. For example, it can be 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day on Mars and -225 degrees Fahrenheit at night! Remember Earth's atmosphere is perfect to produce temperatures that allow life to exist on it. On our journey so far we have learned that Mercury has no atmosphere, Venus' atmosphere is too thick trapping heat on the planet and making it extremely hot, and Mars' atmosphere is too thin causing extremes in temperature.
How Long Does it Take Mars to Orbit the Sun?
It takes Mars about 687 days to orbit the Sun completely. This is nearly two Earth years! Do you notice a pattern yet? The further a planet is away from the Sun, the longer it takes to orbit the Sun. This is because planets that are farther away from the Sun have a longer and wider orbit around the Sun.
Life on Mars?
Due to its close proximity to Earth and temperatures that are not as hot as our other neighboring planet, Venus, much time has been given to the question of whether or not life ever lived on Mars. Some astronomers believe that Mars was once a planet just like Earth with an atmosphere and large amounts of liquid water. They believe this because they have found pebbles and grooves on Mars that look like they were formed by moving water. These astronomers believe that Mars lost its atmosphere turning it into the desolate land it is today. However, they still do not know the exact reason why Mars lost its atmosphere.
Some people believe that humans can one day live on Mars. With our population growing fast, some scientists look to Mars as a place for humans to go if Earth becomes too populated. No one knows if humans can live on Mars yet though. While its true that humans can probably stand the temperature extremes and lack of oxygen on Mars if they stayed inside shelters, astronomers are looking to see if the Sun's radiation is too strong because of Mars' thin atmosphere for humans to ever live on Mars. Below are pictures of the grooves on Mars that look like they where once riverbeds and a make believe picture of what shelters on Mars could possibly look like if it where ever settled by humans.
Some people believe that humans can one day live on Mars. With our population growing fast, some scientists look to Mars as a place for humans to go if Earth becomes too populated. No one knows if humans can live on Mars yet though. While its true that humans can probably stand the temperature extremes and lack of oxygen on Mars if they stayed inside shelters, astronomers are looking to see if the Sun's radiation is too strong because of Mars' thin atmosphere for humans to ever live on Mars. Below are pictures of the grooves on Mars that look like they where once riverbeds and a make believe picture of what shelters on Mars could possibly look like if it where ever settled by humans.
Take a look at the video below that describes many things we have learned about the red planet during this lesson.
This is an exciting time in space exploration relating to Mars. Just this summer, N.A.S.A. landed a rover called Curiosity on Mars. Curiosity was sent to Mars to take pictures and data. Curiosity is still on Mars as we speak taking data! Take a look at the video below which describes how difficult the mission was for astronomers. Astronomers are gaining information from Mars right now as you read this!
Time to Share!
Write a paragraph to people on Earth describing at least three characteristics you have learned about Mars on your journey.