Orbit & Rotation: Like the other
planets in the solar system, Mars travels
around the sun in an elliptical (oval) orbit. But
the orbit of Mars is slightly more "stretched
out" than the orbits of Earth and most of the
other planets. Mars travels around the sun
once every 687 Earth days; this is the length
of the Martian year.
Mass & Density: Earth is about
10 times as massive as Mars. Mars's density is
roughly 70 percent of the density of Earth.
Because Mars is so much smaller and less
dense than Earth the force of gravity is much
less than that on Earth. For example, if
someone dropped a rock, the rock would fall
to the surface more slowly than the same
rock would fall to Earth.
Why would you want to
visit?
To see some really big
volcanoes
To see what it’s like when
you travel further from the
sun
To find out if Martians really
exist
Physical Features: Scientists
suspect that the average thickness of the
Martian crust is about 30 miles. The mantle
of Mars is probably similar in composition to
Earth's mantle. Due to radioactive heating,
the average temperature of the Martian
mantle may be roughly 2700 degrees F.
Unlike Earth's core, which is partially molten
(melted), the core of Mars probably is solid.
Surface Features: Mars has
many of the kinds of surface features that are
common on Earth. These include plains,
canyons, volcanoes, valleys, gullies, and polar
ice. But craters occur throughout the surface
of Mars, while they are rare on Earth. In
addition, fine-grained reddish dust covers
almost all the Martian surface.
Atmosphere: The atmosphere of
Mars contains much less oxygen (O2) than
that of Earth. In addition, clouds, haze, and
fog composed of particles of water ice are
common.
http://www.myddnetwork.com/tech-money/an-image-oflife-on-mars-or-just-our-imagination/
What you would learn:
It’s basically impossible to
breathe there and so you’d need
to bring an oxygen tank.
Instead of seeing green and
blue, like we do here, you’d see
red everywhere.
There is a lot less gravity there
and so you’d float around in the
air instead of walk on the
ground.
Solar System
(quick review)
Where to go next?
1. Mercury
2. Venus
3. Earth
4. Mars
5. Jupiter
6. Saturn
7. Uranus
8. Neptune
Fun Facts About
Mars
•Fourth planet from the
Sun
•One of Earth’s next door
neighbors
•4.6 billion yrs old
•Smaller and less dense
than Earth
http://www.usm.maine.edu/planet/Donorvessel.html
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Earth_Mars_Comparison.jpg
•Reddish dust covers most
of the planet’s surface
By: Melissa Neal
October 5, 2010
•Has the largest volcanoes
in the solar system
http://whyfiles.org/194spa_travel/2.html
http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2009/11/why_loo
k_for_life_on_mars.php