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.

MARSBy Danny and Kenny

WHAT IS MARS?

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

MAR’S ORBIT AND INFO

Orbit: 227, 940, 000 km (1.52 au) from sun Diameter: 6,794 km Mass: 6.4219e23 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

MAR’S CREATION AND FORMATION

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.

MARS SURFACE COMPARED TO EARTH

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

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

EARTH AND MARS COMPARISONEarth Mars

Radius 6378 km 3397 km

Density 5515 kg/m3 3933 kg/m3

Gravity 9.8 m/s2 3.72 m/s2

Year 365.25 days 686.98 days

Eccentricity 0.017 0.094

Day 24 hours 24 hr 39 min

Obliquity 23.45º 25.19º

HOW LONG WOULD IT TAKE TO REACH MARS?

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

DISCOVERY 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 MARS EXPLORATION PROGRAM

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

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

CURRENT EVENTS IN NASA

In 1996 NASA, while studying the ALH 84001 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 Orbiter

WORKS CITED Works Cited Magazine, Popular Mechanics. "Planet Mars

- the Red Planet." Space Projects - Space Information - Space Shop. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. <http://www.aerospaceguide.net/planetmars/index.html>.

"Mars Facts." Kid's Cosmos-Science Resources for Teachers and Students. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. <http://www.kidscosmos.org/kid-stuff/mars-facts.html>.

"Mars  L  Mars Facts, Pictures and Information." The Nine Planets Solar System Tour. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. <http://nineplanets.org/mars.html>.

"Mars, the Red Planet." Astronomy Today. Web. 07 Feb. 2011. <http://www.astronomytoday.com/astronomy/mars.html>.