MARS(4TH Terrestrial Planet)

Mars

Astronomical Symbol of Mars

Hubble Telescope Picture of Mars This NASA Hubble

Space Telescope view provides the most detailed complete global coverage of the red planet Mars ever seen from Earth.This picture was taken on February 25, 1995, when Mars was at a distance of 65 million miles.

Comparison of Mars and Earth

Distance from Sun

141.6 Million Miles

93 Million Miles

Radius 6378 km 3397 kmDiameter 4222 Miles 7926 Miles

Length of Year 687 Earth Days 365.25 Days

Length of Day 24 hours 37

minutes 23 hours 56

minutes

Gravity 3.72 m/s2 9.8 m/s2

Temperature Average -81

degrees F Average 57 degrees F

Number of Moons 2 1

EARTHMARS

Size comparison of Earth and Mars.

Facts about Mars

•Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.

ELEMENTS

CO2 95%

N 3%

A r 2%

H2O trace – clouds, ice caps

• the second smallest planet in the Solar System

•Named after the Roman god of war- Ares

•often described as the "Red Planet" because the iron oxide

Surface Geology

Soil

hydrology Polar Caps

North polar early summer ice cap

South polarMidsummer ice cap

Volcano

Olympus Mons (Mount Olympus)

Gigantic Canyon

Valles Marineris, or Mariner Valley,

Atmosphere

Atmosphere on Mars

Mars has a rocky, dry terrain with huge volcanoes and deep valleys.

The tenuous atmosphere of Mars, visible on the horizon in this low-orbit photo.

Orbit and rotation

moons

Phobos

About 14 miles in

diameter

Orbit close to the

planet

Named after the

character Phobos

(panic/fear)

Rises in the west, sets

in the east, and rises

again in just 11 hours

DeimosAbout 8 miles in diameter

Named after the character

Deimos (terror/dread)

Rises as expected in the

east but very slowly

30 hour orbit of Deimos,

2.7 days elapse between

its rise and set for an

equatorial observer as it

slowly falls behind the

rotation of Mars

Search for life

Mariner missions In July of 1965, Mariner 4,

transmitted 22 close-up pictures of

Mars. All that was revealed was a

surface containing many craters and

naturally occurring channels but no

evidence of artificial canals or

flowing water.

The First Rover

Mars Pathfinder

Spirit

Opportunity

In March 2005, Spirit

studied rocks in the

“Paso Robles” area that

have a high sulfur

content. Much of the

high sulfur is contained

in a hydrated iron-sulfate

mineral that can only

have formed in the

presence of liquid water.

Spirit

OpportunityOpportunity’s

spectrometer and

microscopic imager

found that rocks near

the lower slopes of

Endurance Crater were

affected by water both

before and after the

crater formed.

Curiosity