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Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second smallest planet in the solar system. It is the last terrestrial (rocky) planet; the outer planets are all gaseous.

Mars was formed about 4.5 billion years ago and is about 4,000 miles wide.

Due to Mars’ red color, people in ancient times associated it with blood and war. The planet is named after Mars, the Roman god of war.

Mars is also known as “The Red Planet.” The red color is due to iron oxide (rust); the metallic rocks on Mars are literally rusting.

The month of March is named after Mars.

With the exception of Earth, Mars is the most hospitable to life. It is also the planet most similar to Earth.

A day on Mars is 24 hours and 37 minutes (nearly the same as Earth’s).

Mars is the only other planet besides Earth that has polar ice caps.

Mars has seasons like Earth, but they last twice as long. During a Mars winter, almost 20% of the air freezes.

The average temperature on Mars is -81° and can range from –205° in the winter to 72° Fahrenheit in the summer.

Mars has 37.5% of the gravity that Earth has. So if you weighed 100 lbs on Earth you would weigh 38 lbs on Mars and would be able to jump 3 times higher.

It takes Mars 687 Earth days to orbit

the Sun (almost double Earth’s 365

day orbit).

Mars has the largest dust storms in the solar system. They can last for months, have winds up to 125mph and cover the entire planet.

The low pressure of Mars makes it impossible for humans to survive on the planet without an appropriate space suit.

Pieces of Mars have fallen to Earth as tiny meteorites that were violently ejected from Mars.

Mars lacks an ozone later and is therefore bathed in a lethal dose of radiation every time the sun rises.

Mars’ thin atmosphere is made

mostly of carbon dioxide. It is not

thick enough to trap the sun’s heat so the planet is very cold.

It is believed that Mars’ surface was shaped by catastrophic floods billions of years ago. Large quantities of water are thought to be

trapped underneath its surface.

Mars was once believed to be

home to intelligent life

when Giovanni Schiaparelli

discovered lines in the surface that were not

naturally occurring. Later

these were shown to be an optical illusion.

Only 18 missions to Mars have been successful.

There have been over 40 attempts.

Mars has 2 moons- Phobos (fear) and Deimos (panic). They are named after the twin gods who accompanied Mars into battle.

No human being has set foot on Martian soil. Only the Moon!

Phobos orbits are remarkably close to Mars and will eventually crash into Mars or break up and form a small ring around the planet.

It takes approximately eight months to travel to Mars.

On July 20, 1976 the US Viking 1 was the first

human spacecraft to land intact and operational on

the surface of Mars.

The unofficial names of many rocks on Mars’ surface are names easy for scientists to remember: Barnacle Bill, Yogi, Pop-Tart, Shark, Half Dome, Moe, Stimpy and Cabbage Patch.

On August 27, 2003 Mars made its closest approach to Earth in nearly 60,000 years. The next time it will be that close again will be in 2287.