Mars Research :: Papers

Mars Research Mars, the red planet, is the fourth planet from the sun and the most Earth-like planet in our solar system. It is about half the size of Earth and has a dry, rocky surface and a very thin atmosphere. Mars' Surface ------------- The surface of mars is dry, rocky, and mostly covered with iron-rich dust. There are low-lying plains in the northern hemisphere, but the southern hemisphere is dotted with impact craters. The ground is frozen; this permafrost extends for several Kilometres. The north and south poles of Mars are covered by ice caps composed of frozen water and carbon dioxide. Scientists have long thought that there is no liquid water on the surface of Mars now, but recent photos Mars indicate that there might be some liquid water near the surface. The surface of Mars shows much evidence of the effects of ancient waterways upon the landscape, there are ancient, dry rivers and lakes complete with huge inflow and outflow channels. These channels were probably caused by catastrophic flooding that quickly eroded the landscape. Scientists think that most of the water on Mars is frozen in the land (as permafrost) and frozen in the polar ice caps. Size: Mars is about 4,222 miles (6790 Km) in diameter. This is 53% (a little over half) of the diameter of the Earth. Mass and Gravity: Mars' mass is about 6.42 x 10.23 Kg. This is 1/9th of the mass of the Earth. A 100-pound person would weigh 38 pounds. Length Of A Day And Year On Mars: --------------------------------- Each day on Mars takes 1.03 Earth days (24.6 hours). A year on mars takes 687 Earth days; it takes this long for Mars to orbit the sun once. Mars' Orbit: Mars is 1.524 times farther from than the sun than the Earth is. It averages 141.6 million miles (227.9 million Km) from the sun. Its orbit is very elliptical; Mars has the highest orbital eccentricity of any planet in our Solar System except Pluto.