Transcript
RED PLANET MARS
Mars
Mars is named after the roman god of war with a symbol of
ARES
Information of Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is commonly referred to as the Red Planet. The rocks and soil have a red or pink hue due to the iron oxiode (rust) they contain .
Planets of the Solar System
Mars:
Earth’s little brother
Why Mars?
Elliptical orbit like Earth Potential for colony
What are the similarities and differences you notice?
Size
Smaller than Earth
8 Mars would fit inside the Earth!
Atmospheres: Are they similar?Why?
Nitrogen: 78%
Oxygen: 21 %
Argon: 0.9%
Water: > 1%
Carbon Doxide: 0.002%
Carbon Doxide: 95.%
Nitrogen: 3%
Argon: 2%
Oxygen: 0.1%
Water: > 0.03%
Constituents:
Days and Years
One martian day is 24 hours and 37 minutes
One martian year is 686 earth days, almost two Earth years
Basic Facts
Distance from Sun ≈1.52 times as far as Earth
Time to Orbit the Sun ~ 26 Earth months
Atmosphere ~ Mostly carbon dioxide Martian Day ~ 24.7 hours Temperature on the planet’s surface
hardly rises above freezing point
Atmosphere on Mars
Mars has a rocky, dry terrain with huge volcanoes and deep valleys. The atmosphere is much thinner than Earth’s and is comprised primarily of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. It’s gravity is about one-third of our own.
Atmosphere
Very thin atmosphere Mainly carbon dioxide No oxygen Dusty, makes the sky
pinkish, lots of dust storms Composition: 95% CO2, 3% N,
1.5% Ar, 0.1% O2, 0.03% H2O
Mars is Dry
No lakes, rivers, or oceans
Mars is Cold
High = 40F Low = -195F
Moons of Mars
Mars has two tiny moons named “Deimos” (Panic) & “Phobos” (Fear)
The moons are irregular and very small in size Phobos 27x22x18 km Deimos 15x12x10 km
The moons are probably asteroids captured by Mars
Deimos Phobos
Image Courtesy of NASA
The two Martian moons resemble asteroids
Mars has two small, football-shaped satellites that move in orbits close to the surface of the planet
They may be captured asteroids or may have formed in orbit around Mars out of solar system debris
Seasons on Mars
Like Earth, Mars has seasonal changes but the seasons last much longer. In Winter, Mars’ polar ice cap can reach down to 45 degrees latitude and then rapidly shrink during Spring. Dust storms are seasonal, also, as witnessed in this Hubble image.
The two faces of marsthe nortern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere
Largest Volcano on Mars
The largest volcano in the solar system is Olympus Mons. It is 624 km (374 miles) in diameter; about the same size as Arizona.The altitude of Olympus Mons is three times the altitude of the largest peak on Earth, Mt. Everest.
Polar Ice Caps
Mars’s polar caps contain frozen water, a layer of permafrost may exist below the Martian regolith, and there may be liquid water beneath the surface
The Martian polar caps expand in winter as a thin layer of frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) is deposited from the atmosphere
Mars Atmosphere
Gigantic Canyon
Valles Marineris, or Mariner Valley, is a vast canyon system that runs along the Martian equator. Valles Marineris is 2500 miles long and reaches depths of up to 4 miles.
Gigantic Canyon
For comparison, the Grand Canyon in Arizona is about 500 miles long and 1 mile deep. In fact, the extent of Valles Marineris is as long as the United States and it spans about 20 percent (1/5) of athe entire distance around Mars.
Mars Surface Features
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
The Martian atmosphere changes dramaticallywith the seasons
Great dust storms sometimes blanket Mars
Fine-grained dust in its atmosphere gives the Martian sky a pinkish-orange tint
Seasonal winds blow dust across the face of Mars, covering and uncovering the underlying surface material and causing seasonal color changes
Viking Landers
According to scientists, Mars is self-sterilizing. They believe the combination of solar ultraviolet radiation that saturates the surface, the extreme dryness of the soil and the oxidizing nature of the soil chemistry prevent the formation of living organisms in the Martian soil. The question of life on Mars at some time in the distant past remains open.
Is there Water on Mars?
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
Odyssey
Discovered subsurface water ice near poles
Track changes of polar ice, clouds and dust storms
Generated maps of radiation and minerals
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech
QUIZ1). What planet is the Red Planet.?2). How many mars could fit inside the earth?3). How many earth days of one martian year?4). What is the two tiny moons of planet mars?5). What shaped resemble of the two moons of mars?6). What is the largest volcano in the solar system?7). What is the gigantic canyon in the solar system?8). What planet is Earth’s little brother?9). How many months last the dust storm in mars?10). Who is the god of war?
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