MARSThe Red Planet

Viking lander

• Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It gets its red color from a rustlike coating found on its surface soil. Great storms pick up this coating and blow it furiously around the planet. The diameter of Mars is 6,794 km. The core is iron sulfide. Both the mantle and the crust are silcate.

• The atmosphere consists of carbon dioxide. Mars air pressure is low. Its axis tilt is 25.2 degrees. The length of a day is 24 hrs. 37 min. and the length of a year

• is 687 Earth days. Mars average orbital speed is 24 km per sec and the average distance from the Sun is 227,900,000 km.

• Two small moons that look like giant potatoes orbit Mars. Deimos at a height of 20,123 km orbits Mars every 30 hours. Phobos is only 5,973 km high and takes less than eight hours to make a orbit. Phobos rises and sets twice a day.

• Some special features of Mars are its rocky surface, barren dunes and valleys.

• Mars has a rocky surface, barren dunes, and many valleys. It have canyons four times deeper than our Grand Canyon. The northern hemisphere has more volcanoes than its southern hemisphere. But there are more craters in the southern hemisphere then in the northern hemisphere. Both hemispheres have polar ice which is frozen carbon dioxide or

• “dry ice”.

• It has many canyons. One of which is four times deeper than our Grand Canyon. The northern hemisphere has more volcanoes than the southern hemisphere. But the southern hemisphere has more craters than the northern hemisphere. Both hemispheres have polar ice which is frozen carbon dioxide or “dry ice”.

• NASA has sent Viking landers to help them better understand Mars. Cameras provided numerous pictures of the planet.

• Viking carried an instrument which was

• used to analyze the soil. Viking also carried three different laboratories for testing. It is hoped that one day astronauts will be sent to explore the Red Planet.

• One theory as to the history of Mars is that the tremendous heat from the formation of the planets partially melted the young planet. Heavy metal, mainly iron, sank to the center and formed the core. Silicate material then formed the mantle. The crust has been battered by meteoroids.

• Strong internal heating is believed to have led to the expansion of the globe. The dense atmosphere was formed by an outpouring of gases from the hot interior. During its lifetime Mars had a period of time when it had rain accounting for its soil erosion. Today due to volcanic activity, atmospheric conditions, and the impact of large meteoroids sections of Mars’ surface have collapsed.

• Compared to some other planets Mars is small. It is the last of the rocky planets.

• The more distant planets are gas giants. Like most of the other planets it has no known life forms. But it is close enough to Earth for exploration. Hopefully in the future Mars will serve as a base for further exploration of the more distant planets.

• Mars should be president because it is said that it already has a face. It is fiery and has furious wind storms. Mars has numerous minerals and is close enough to hold the interest of the people of Earth. Also Ancient Romans honored Mars as

• their god of war.

• As a person I believe Mars could be Alexander the Great. After all the Ancient Romans thought of Mars as a god of war. There was perhaps no greater leader in war than Alexander the Great.

• Reference: National Geographic Book

• “Our Universe”

TJ, Victor, and Amondo