THINGS FACTS ABOUT MARS: EARTH'S MYSTERIOUS COUSIN

DEIMOS, THE SMALLER MARTIAN MOON

Deimos, the smaller moon, is so small that an astronaut on

Mars would see it as a full moon just about as brightly as we

see Venus in our night sky. Scientists are unsure whether

both these moons are captured asteroids or true moons.

MARTIAN SIZE

Volume-wise, Mars is much smaller than Earth. Over six

whole Mars’ would be able to pack into our Earth.

MARTIAN GRAVITY

Lower gravity on Mars means you would be able to hop

around much easier than on Earth. Its 62.5% less gravity

means 100 pounds on Earth are equivalent to

about 38 pounds on Mars.

IS THERE LIFE ON MARS?

The most well-known supporting evidence for life on

Mars refers to NASA experiments in 1996 on Martian

rocks which landed on Earth. Inside, the scientists

found complex organic molecules and fossilized

structures which resemble microbes we are

familiar with. Though these findings remain

controversial, scientists today generally believe life

did exist at some point on Mars (and may even

still exist today).

THE ONLY OTHER ICE-CAPPED PLANET

Besides our own planet, Mars is the only planet in the solar

system to have polar ice caps. The southern ice cap is

made of dry ice and is said to resemble freshly fallen snow.

THE MARTIAN GRAND CANYON

Mars’ equivalent of the Grand Canyon, the Noctis Labyrinthus

(“labyrinth of the night”) is a highly varied area filled with

Steep walled valleys and sloping canyons. Trapped between

two highly volatile, tectonically-active areas of the planet,

the area has been shaped by the stress of heat and water

over millions of years.

MARS' MOON ON A DESTRUCTION PATH

Human settlements on Mars could be threatened by Mars’

moon Phobos, thankfully not for tens of millions of years

though. Each orbit, Phobos is drawn closer to Mars by the

planet’s gravity. (It spirals inward at 6ft (1.8m) every 100 years.)

Many millennia in the future, the moon will likely crash into

Mars or break up above the planet’s surface, creating a ring.

FIRST HUMANS ON MARS

In a 2010 speech at Kennedy Space Centre, U.S. President

Barack Obama called for the Americans to land a manned

mission to Mars by the mid 2030’s, making it the most

ambitious Mars exploration plan by any country on record.