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Hayden Pehrson
Professor Janalee Harrison
Elementary Astronomy
22 February 2015
Mars
The planet Mars is the fourth planet from our sun. Mars was named after the Greeks god
of war, Ares. It then later was named after the ancient Romans who used their god of war, which
was the name Mars. The distance between Mars and the sun is about 142 million miles apart.
Mars is the outermost of what astronomers call the inner planets. Mars is the second smallest
planet thats in our solar system. The surface area on Mars and Earth are almost the same, even
though Earth is about twice the size of Mars. Mars has two moons that orbit with the names of
Deimos and Phobos. These two moons are believed to have once been astroids that were
pulled by Mars gravitational pull and then put into orbit. There has been more launched
spacecraft to Mars then any other planets. NASA has sent many probes since the 1960s, as well
rovers that were sent there since the 1990s to study the planet on the surface.
The discovery of Mars has been known since prehistoric times. Mars was named after the
ancient Romans, named after their god of war, which they had gotten the idea of the name from
the Greeks. In the World Books Solar System & Space Exploration Library: Mars states, In
Roman mythology, Mars was a god of farmland before he became the god of war. The romans
named the month of March after Mars, because that was the time of year when the growing
season began. The Romans also believed that Mars was the father of Romulus, and Remus, who

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were the founders of Rome. Mars has been know since ancient times as the red star that moves
each night in relation to other stars. There is no specific individual who discovered the planet
Mars, but there is evidence of the discovery that goes back into history to the Egyptians.
Mars is the outermost terrestrial planet in our solar system. The distance between the sun
and Mars is about 142 million miles apart. The diameter of Mars is 4,222 miles at its equator.
The surface area of land on Mars is about the same as Earths, even though Earth is about two
times bigger. On the surface of Mars, its soil contains iron-oxide which gives the planet a
reddish color. Mars has north and south ice caps just like Earth, and these ice caps change in size
throughout the course of the martian year. Another similar discovery about Mars is that it
contains white clouds, like we have here on Earth. The crust on the planet Mars is thick and
rocky, but beneath the crust is the mantle which is a layer of rock that is partly melted because of
the high temperature. The core of Mars is mainly made up of mostly iron, but it may also contain
other elements. Scientists have findings that Mars core is partly liquid like Earths, which these
liquid metals conduct electricity and cause a magnetic field. Although, Mars has a some what
liquid core, it doesnt have a magnetic field like Earth.
Mars has an atmosphere that is about one hundred
times thinner than Earths atmosphere. The atmospheres
greatest pressure is near Mars surface, but Mars greatest
pressure is weaker than the pressure of Earths atmosphere
high in the

sky. Mars atmosphere is made up of mostly of carbon dioxide with

small amounts of other elements. There has been discoveries on Mars that it had once had water
at a liquid state billions of years ago. The weather on Mars is very cold, with an average surface

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temperature of negative eighty degrees fahrenheit. Depending on whether the temperature is at
its lowest, water can freeze out of the air on Mars. Mars is too cold to have liquid water exist in
the air , so it never rains on Mars. Mars has less mass and density than Earth. The planet Mars
moves around the sun at a speed of about fifteen miles per second, when it is being pulled by the
suns gravity. Mars speed is just slightly slower than Earths which is eighteen point five miles
faster. It takes Mars 687 Earth days to orbit the sun because Mars travels farther and slower than
Earth. The orbital path of Mars is elliptical, which can be as close as 128 million miles to the
sun, and as far away as 155 million miles. One day on Mars takes twenty four hours and thirty
seven minutes to rotate one time on its axis.
The surface of Mars is different on the northern and southern half of the planet. The
northern part of Mars looks similar to some deserts that we have on Earth. This half of the planet
has been smoothed out by water and lava flows many years ago. The southern part of Mars has
mountains and craters. For the most part these craters happened billions of years ago when
meteorites slammed into the surface. Mars has some of the largest volcanoes, and some of the
largest and deepest canyons in our solar system. The largest canyon on Mars is named Valles
Marineris, which is 2,500 miles long. There are also parts in the canyon as wide as sixty miles
and as deep as six miles. The biggest volcano on Mars is named Olympus Mons, which is about
sixteen miles high and 370 miles wide. Scientists believe that the volcanoes on Mars havent
erupted in over 100 million years. Mars has one of the largest craters in our solar system with the
name of Hellas Planita. It is 1,400 miles wide and five point five miles deep. The craters on Mars
are different looking compared to what they appear to be on other planets/satellites. This is
because of the seasonal changes and weather that erode and reshape overtime.

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Both the south and north ice caps on Mars are covered by carbon dioxide. The north ice
cap contains more water ice then the south ice cap. The carbon dioxide
gas freezes out the atmosphere to form solid carbon dioxide, during
the martian winter. During the summer and spring, the carbon
dioxide enters the atmosphere again. The ice caps change in size
during different seasons. Mars has four seasons just like we do on
Earth, with an

axis tilted at twenty five degrees. Seasons are twice as long on Mars because

it takes almost twice as long to orbit the sun. There is a lot of water on Mars, but most of it is
frozen at the poles or below the ground. The frozen soil that is below the ground is called
permafrost. Scientists believe that if all the ice melted that it would cover the entire surface
with a shallow ocean. Mars has two moons with the names of Deimos and Phobos. Phobos is
the largest of the two moons with a width of seventeen miles long, and Deimos is nine miles
across its width. Deimos is further away then Phobos, and Phobos is moving closer to Mars and
it will crash into it in about fifty million years.
There has been more spacecraft launched to
Mars from NASA, then any other planet. There
were three space probes launched in the 1960s,
that took photographs of parts of Mars where there
were craters. Mariner 9 back in 1971, took photos
of volcanoes, canyons, and dry riverbeds. There were two viking spacecraft that landed on Mars
in 1976, that took photos of Mars on the planets surface. There have also been probes that have
found signs that show Mars once had liquid water. These probes include robot rovers that go by

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the names of Sojourner, Spirit, and Opportunity. Other orbiting spacecraft that have found
evidence of water include NASAs Mars Global Surveyor. Mars, Odyssey, and the European
Space Agencys Mars Express. NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, since 2006 has been
identifying the distribution of water and other minerals on Mars.
There has been many spacecrafts that have failed to make it to Mars over the years. The
spacecraft that have made it have taken many photos of Mars, and has studied the different
elements and minerals that Mars contains. These probes/rovers have brought back soil and
minerals back to Earth laboratories to study. The evidence that we obtain from Mars gives us an
idea for future technologies to work on and begin finding more information about the planet.
There are rovers that are still currently on Mars studying the geographical landscape of the
planet, and if one day there could be human life on the planet. There has been findings of
possible living life forms that have once lived on the planet billions of years ago. NASA is
continuing to increase their technology to soon land on Mars.
Once we have the technology to land on Mars, we should think of ways for human life
form to have the ability to live on the planet Mars. For example, bring plants from Earth and
plant them into Mars soil, and then see if there is a possibility that they could produce a certain
amount of oxygen to develop life on the planet. Mars could be a possible second home to
humans in the future if this could possibly work. This could then build a strong atmosphere, as
well as melting the ice and using that water to live on. With the similarities that Mars and Earth
share, there is a possibility that humans could live on both planets. That way the human
population can increase, and with the increase in technology we could travel further into space to
find other planets that have the possibility of living on as well.

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Work Citied
Choi, Q. Charles. Mars Facts: Life, Water, and Robots on the Red Planet. 2014. Web. Feb. 2015.
Geology of Mars. Google images. Web. Feb. 2015.

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Honeybee Robotics. Google images. Web. Feb. 2015.
Howell, Elizabeth. Interesting Facts About Mars. 2015. Web. Feb. 2015
Nineplanets: Mars. Mars Facts, Pictures, and Information. 1994-2015. Web. Feb. 2015.
Valles Marineris. Google images. Web. Feb. 2015.
Wall, Mike. Curiosity Rover Makes Big Water Discovery in Mars Dirt, a wow moment. 2013.
Web. Feb. 2015.

World Books Solar System & Space Exploration Library: Mars. Chicago: A Scott Fetzer
company, 2007. Print.