FACTS ABOUT MARS: EARTH'S MYSTERIOUS COUSIN
Added on: 25th Jun 2016
MARTIAN TEMPERATURES
Mars experiences much greater temperature fluctuations than our
own planet. Whereas the coldest it has gotten on Earth’s surface
is -126° F (-88° C) and the hottest 136° F (58° C), Mars fluctuates
between -284° F (-140° C) and 86° F (30° C). The average
temperature on each is 57° F (14° C) on Earth and -81° F
(-63° C) on Mars. That’s a cold planet!
INTENSE DUST STORMS
Martian dust storms are among the fiercest in the solar system
and are even the largest. A dust storm can envelop the
entire planet and last for many months.
THE CURIOSITY ROVER
One of the primary goals of NASA’s well-known Curiosity Rover,
currently on the Martian surface, has been to plan for a human
visit to the planet. Other goals are understanding the climate
and geology of the planet and determining if life ever
existed on Mars.
TALLEST MOUNTAIN IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM
The tallest mountain in the solar system, Olympus Mons, is a
shield volcano, similar to those in Hawaii and many Pacific islands.
It stands at 13.2 miles (21 km) above sea level on the Martian
surface. Three times taller than Mount Everest, Olympus Mons’
surface area is the same as the entire U.S. state of Arizona.
FIRST SPACECRAFT EXPLORATION OF MARS
The first spacecraft sent to explore Mars was the Soviet Union’s
“Mars 1” in 1962. En route, mission controllers lost contact with
the vehicle. The first American spacecraft to reach Mars was
Mariner 4 in 1964 which sent back the first pictures of the
red planet.
WATER ON MARS
Astronomers have known for years that water exists on Mars,
locked up in its polar ice caps. However, they’ve recently found
dark streaks on the planet which would indicate flowing water.
Mars’ temperatures would mean the water would have to be
incredibly salty to keep it in liquid form.
MARTIAN LAND AREA
Despite being considerably smaller than Earth – about half of
Earth’s diameter and a tenth of its mass – Mars has a land area
similar to that on Earth due to our planet’s high amount of water.
This would only apply to Mars’ current state since the
Martian oceans have dried and frozen up.
PHOBOS, THE LARGER MARTIAN MOON
Phobos, the larger of the two Martian moons, orbits the planet so
quickly it would set twice (in the East) and rise once (in the west)
every day.
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