UNIQUE FACTS ABOUT MARS: EARTH'S MYSTERIOUS COUSIN

MARS: EARTH'S COUSIN

Bearing a similar tilt to Earth, Mars has a 25° tilt while our planet

has a 23.5° tilt.  Mars also experiences the same four seasons,

though they are more extreme.

MARTIAN SEASONS

The red planet’s seasons are much longer than ours.

Due to Mars’ elliptical orbit, spring and summer are longer

in its northern hemisphere while fall and winter are longer

in the southern. They are also more intense with hotter

summers and colder winters.

COULD WE BREATHE ON MARS?

Though the red planet is often cited as a potential second Earth,

we would not be able to breathe in its atmosphere made up of

96% carbon dioxide and less than 0.2% oxygen. Earth’s 21%

oxygen is right about where we need to be. Scientists are

currently testing microbes that can be sent ahead of humans to

begin converting and creating oxygen on the planet.

THE FIRST ASSUMPTION OF LIFE ON MARS

In the last quarter of the 19th century, astronomers generally

believed intelligent life was living on Mars. Italian astronomer

Giovanni Schiaparelli noticed relatively straight lines on the

Martian surface which he and other astronomers of the time

believed were irrigation canals constructed by intelligent beings.

As telescopes developed in the early 20th century, this

assumption was proved wrong – though not before giving

birth to plenty of sci-fi about the red planet, including

Marvin the Martian.

HOW MARS GOT ITS NAME

Mars’ surface is rich in iron, giving it a reddish colour. This

composition has led to cultures as far back as the Egyptians

naming it after the colour. The Egyptians named it Her Desher

(“the red one”), the Chinese named it “fire star”, and the

Romans named it Mars, after their god of war

(equivalent to Ares in Greek mythology).

A VALLEY THE SIZE OF NORTH AMERICA

An enormous system of canyons, the Valles Marineris stretches

2,600 miles (4,200 km) across the Martian surface and is up to

4.3 miles (7 km) deep. Placing it on Earth and into context,

the Valles Marineris would span from New York to

San Francisco and then some.

MARS' ROTATION AROUND THE SUN

A Martian year is significantly longer than an Earth year

(the time it takes to make one rotation of the sun).

On Earth, we have 365 days whereas Mars has 687 days.

MARTIAN DAY

The Martian day is also longer, but only slightly. One Earth day is

23 hours and 56 minutes while one Martian day is 24 hours and

40 minutes. When we do land on Mars, it will be an easier transition

than if we went to Jupiter (10 hour day) or Venus (2,802 hour day).

MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE

The atmosphere on Mars is 100 times less dense than our own,

making landing space crafts on its surface tricky as the

atmosphere does not help as much in slowing down their

descent as it does on our blue planet. Despite this lack of density,

it is still dense enough to permit weather and winds.