ELS GROUP B

● Mars is the fourth

planet from the sun and
is commonly referred to
as “Red Planet”. The
rocks and soil have a
pink red hue due to the
iron oxide (rust) they
contain.

Diameter: 4,217 miles
Time to rotate: 24 hours, 37
minutes
Orbit: 687 Earth days
Compared to Earth:
Mass: 11% of Earth's
Diameter: 53% of
Earth's
Distance from sun: 1.5
times as far
Size Comparison of Earth and
Mars:

12,756 km
6,794 km
Diameter
Diameter
● It’s red, as though from
bloodshed in battle. So the
romans named it after their God
of war, mars.

● It was known to the Babylonians

3,600 years ago as the “Star that
wandered”.
 ● Rocky, dry terrain with huge
volcanoes and deep valleys. It’s
gravity is about 1/3 of our own.
● Temperature is much colder.
Credit: NASA/JPL-CALTECH

● Atmosphere is much thinner

Than the Earth’s, mainly comprised
of nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
 ● Mars is home to the largest
volcano in the solar system,
Olympus Mons.

● Altitude is three times of

Mount Everest.
Olympus Mons
https://mars.nasa.gov/gallery/atlas/images/oly.jpg
 ● Phobos - means
“Fear” or “Fright”
● Deimos - means
“Flight”

● They were named after the two sons of the god

mars.
 ● Mars also has the
largest canyon in the
Solar System, Valles
Marineris

Valles Marineris. (1998, June 8).

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/USGS
Some Interesting
facts about mars
 FACT #1: Sunsets on Mars are blue

● The fine dust tends to scatter red

light so that the sky appears
reddish, which lets the blue light
through. On Earth, it is the other
way around. Blue light bounces
off air molecules giving our sky
its characteristic hue.
 FACT #2: Water on Mars

● Low temperature and pressure on

Mars means water can only exist
as vapor or ice .

● According to NASA scientists, there

once might be primitive ocean on Mars
that held more water than Earth’s Arctic
Ocean.
NASA scientists have determined that a primitive ocean on
Mars held more water than Earth's Arctic Ocean and that the
Red Planet has lost 87 percent of that water to space.Credits:
NASA/GSFC
 FACT #3: Solar Winds

● NASA researchers have

determined that Mars’ once rich
atmosphere was stripped away by
solar winds in the early days of
the Solar System, causing the
planet to dry out.
Artist’s rendering of a solar storm hitting Mars
and stripping ions from the planet’s upper
atmosphere. Credit: NASA/GSFC
 FACT #3: Solar Winds

● This shows how Earth’s

magnetic field protects our
planet from solar wind.

Sun - Earth Connection. (2007). The

European Space Agency. <
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Image
s/2007/10/The_Sun-Earth_connection
>
 References:
● Brown, et al. (2017, August 7) NASA Research Suggest Mars Once Had More Water Than
Earth’s Arctic Ocean. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
https://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/march/nasa-research-suggests-mars-once-had-more-wa
ter-than-earth-s-arctic-ocean
● Greshko, M. (n.d.) Planet Mars, Explained. National Geographic.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/mars/
● Jones, C. (2020, May). Mars Facts. Space Facts.
https://space-facts.com/mars/
● Rover, M. E. (2004). NASA Facts. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology Pasadena.

Image Sources
Planet Mars:
Credit: NASA/NSSDCA Photo Gallery
<https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/photo_gallery/photogallery-mars.html >
Size Comparison of Earth and Mars:
<https://suindependent.com/life-earth-mars-going/>
Deimos and Phobos :
Moons of Mars Phobos and Deimos. (2020). Space Specialists <
https://spacespecialists.com/fun-stories/moons-of-mars>