Perhaps one of the most well-known planets and subject to countless of studies and researches, Planet Mars have been associated with countless sayings such as…”Men are from Mars, Women From Venus” and “There Is Life On Planet Mars”, among the many. The planet is the 4th from the Sun and 7th largest planet in the Solar System.

In terms of size, the planet is approximately one tenth the size of Earth. It has about the same surface area that of Earth and one third of its gravitational pull (0.380). Mars is roughly 227940000 km (136764000 ml or 1.52 A.U.) from the Sun, about one and a half times as far as earth is. Mars has two natural satellites of its own – Phobos and Deimos, each with its different characteristics.

The average temperature on Mars is approximately -55 °C (-67°F) with a minimum temperature of -133 °C (-207 °F) at its winter pole while the minimum temperature is noted at 27 °C (81°F) at its summer dayside. The planet’s atmospheric composition is as follows : Carbon Dioxide (CO2) – 95.32%, Nitrogen (N2) – 2.7%, Argon (Ar) – 1.6%, Oxygen (O2) – 0.13%, Carbon Monoxide (CO) – 0.07%, Water (H20) – 0.03%, Neon (Ne) – 0.00025%, Krpyton (Kr) – 0.00003%, Xenon (Xe) – 0.000008% and Ozone (O3) – 0.000003%.

A Martian Day is equivalent to 1.026 Earth days or roughly 24 hours, 37 minutes and 22 seconds while a Martian Year equals to approximately 22 ½ Earth months ( 1.9 years ). Among some of the features of Planet Mars are as follows :

– Contains The Highest Mountain In The Solar System.

Known as the Olympus Mon, it rises about 24 km above the surrounding plain. It is so high that the tip of its peak reaches above Mars’ atmosphere. The mountain base is more than 500 km in diameter with a cliffed-rim of 6 km high.

– Largest canyon in Mars is the Valles Marineris which is a system of canyons that is

4000 km long, between 2 km to 7 km deep and up to 20 km wide.

– Largest Impact Crater.

Largest impact crater is an impact crater in the southern hemisphere known as the
Hellas Planitia. The crater is over 6 km deep with a 2000 km diameter.

– Polar Ice Caps.

The planet contains polar ice caps that are made of dry ice (frozen carbon dioxide)
and water ice. These ice caps advance and retreat with the changing seasons.

– Planetary Storms And Tornadoes.

Mars experiences dust storms that envelopes the entire planet. There have also been tornado tracks discovered on the surface of the planet.

Mars, or sometimes referred to as “The Red Planet” obtained its English name from the Roman god of War due to the fact that it is most often seen with a reddish tone when viewed in our sky. The Planet Mars also makes for interesting studies especially when it comes to conditions on mars having once been favorable to life and also life of a high order.

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