Mars is the second smallest planet in the solar system. It was named after the Roman god of war. Mars is also known as the “Red Planet” due to its reddish appearance. Here are some interesting planet Mars facts for kids. These facts are sure going to increase your knowledge about Mars.
What are some amazing facts about Planet Mars?
1. You might have heard about Google Earth which can be used to explore Earth. Did you know you can now watch the full map of planet Mars at Google?
2. Olympus Mons on Mars is the tallest mountain on the planet with a height of approx. 22 Kilometers. Olympus Mons is 2.4 times taller than Earth’s highest Mount Everest. It was discovered in 1971.
3. According to a new study done in 2017, geologists believe that rainfall had occurred on Planet Mars in the past about billion years ago. The rain was very powerful and it carved out many features on the surface of the planet that we see today.
4. Did you know that Planet Mars has most of the tallest mountains in the solar system? If we take out the list of the 10 tallest mountains in the solar system, 5 of them are located on Mars. The tallest mountains located on Mars are as below.
a. Olympus Mons
b. Ascraeus Mons
c. Pavonis Mons
d. Arsia Mons
e. ELYSIUM MONS
5. Mars has two moons named Phobos and Deimos which are relatively smaller and irregularly shaped. Both moons were discovered in 1877 and were named after brothers from Greek mythology.
6. The gravity on Mars in 3.7 m/s2 which is about 37% of gravity compared to Earth’s gravity which is 9.8 m/s2. This means you can jump about three times higher on Mars than earth.
7. Even though Mars has only 15% volume of Earth’s volume, They have approximately the same land mass because about 71% of earth surface is covered with water.
8. As of April 2018, there have been about 44 missions to Mars and only 21 missions have been successful. The most recent mission to Mars is ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter which was launched on 14 March 2016 and It made it way into Mars orbit on October 19, 2016. This mission is a joint venture of the European space agency (ESA) and Russia.
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9. In 2013, India launched its first ever Mars mission to explore Mars’ surface features, atmosphere, and minerals. The mission was also aimed at developing interplanetary technologies. The mission was a success and interesting facts is that the total cost of the mission was only about US$73 million (₹450 Crore Indian Rupees) which made it the least-expensive Mars mission in the history.
10. The next mission to Mars is “INSIGHT” by NASA. The mission launched on 5 May 2018 and is expected to land on the surface of Mars at Elysium Planitia on 26 November 2018. The mission was originally scheduled to launch in March 2016 but it was delayed due to some problems. This mission will improve our understanding of the formation of terrestrial planets.
11. Mars is known for its intense dust storms which could cover the whole planet. The dust storms on Mars are the largest in the solar system. Some Mars experts are expecting a huge dust storm this year (2018). The storms will grow so big that it may darken skies around the entirely of planet Mars.
12. The distance of planet Mars from Sun is about 1.5 times of the distance between Earth and Sun. This means the angular diameter of Sun on Mars is about 1/1.5 times (or two third) of the angular diameter of Sun on Earth. So, The size of Sun on Mars would appear 4/9 times (about half) the size of Sun on Earth.
Sunset on Mars
13. There are few planets like Saturn, Jupiter, and Neptune in the solar system which has the rings. Saturn is the planet which has the most visible rings. Did you know One day in future Mars could also have rings? Scientists are predicting that Phobos, largest moon of Mars will be broken apart by gravitational forces and may form the ring of Mars in next 20-40 million years. The ring may last up to a short team of 100 million years (in astrological terms, this timeframe is short).
14. More than 100 pieces of rocks have been found on Earth, which was determined as Martian meteorites. These piece of rocks were formed on planet Mars and landed on Earth after they were ejected from Mars by the impact of an asteroid or comet.
15. A year on Mars (687 days) is almost twice as a year on earth (365 days).
16. It was always that known water is found on Mars in ice form only. However recent studies have suggested that liquid water may be flowing intermittently on today’s Mars. The first signs of flowing water are dark stripes or stains on crater wall and cliffs seen as seen from satellite images.
17. Most of us have heard about Grand Canyon of America which is a national park located in Arizona. Did you know Mars has it own Grand canyon – Valles Marineris. The grand canyon of Mars is one of the largest canyons of the solar system. Valles Marineris is about 4000 Km long, 200 km wide and 7 km deep. Valles Marineris is about 9 times longer than Earth’s grand canyon.
18. Mars temperature may reach as high as 20 °C (68 °F) at noon at the equator and temperature may go as low as −153 °C (−243 °F) at poles in winter.
19. Dutch company Mars One has announced it plans to settle humans on Mars in 2023. They have already invited application for one way trip to Mars and many people have applied. The journey to Mars will take about 6-8 months.
20. In July 2018, an underground lake of liquid water has been found on Mars. The lake is located on the planet’s south polar ice cap and is about 20km (12 miles) long and probably less than 1 meter deep. This is the most significant discovery about the presence of liquid water on Mars.
If you know any other interesting planet Mars facts, Please share with us in the comments section.
2 comments
Wow these are fascinating facts about Mars.
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