Facts About Mars

Mars, the red planet, fourth rock from the Sun, our neighboring world and perhaps one of the most enigmatic of all planets in our solar system. It is one of the brightest objects in the night sky and can be identified by its distinct reddish tint. If you are looking for some really interesting facts about Mars, you have landed on the right page and you definitely won't be disappointed.

The distance between Sun and Mars is about 230 million kilometers and it makes one complete revolution around our parent star in about 687 Earth days. A day on Mars is only slightly longer than an Earth day with a total duration of 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35.244 seconds only. So these were some basic facts about Mars.

After Earth, the only planetary world about which we really know a lot is planet Mars. Though a manned mission to the red planet still remains a distant possibility, our rovers have already landed on red soil and orbiters have mapped every inch of its surface. Through Google Earth software, you can actually get a 3D view of the planet surface. The Google Mars page made available via Google labs can provide a 2D map of all of its prominent surface features and show all the rover landing sites. Let me now begin with the most interesting planet Mars facts in the next section.

Interesting Facts About Mars

Here is a compilation of some astounding mind-boggling facts about the red planet. Though a terrestrial planet like Earth, the red planet is lot different from our home world. There is no absolute evidence about existence of life on Mars as yet. Here are some eye opener Mars facts.

Phobos & Deimos
One of the most interesting facts about Mars is that unlike Earth, it has two moons! So for those of you who wondered how many moons does Mars have, it is only two puny moons.Mars is names after the ferocious Roman God of war and its two moons are not surprisingly named Phobos (Fear) and Deimos (Terror)! Both satellites are irregularly shaped and may actually be captured asteroids.

Rust is the Secret of Martian Redness
Have you ever wondered why is Mars red? The reason will surprise you. The reddish orange color of its surface is attributed to ferric oxide, which is commonly known on Earth as 'Rust'! So Mars could literally be called a 'Rustic Planet'.

Olympus Mons - Highest Mountain in Solar System
It is a fact that Mount Everest is the highest planet on Earth, but the highest mountain in the solar system lies on Mars and its named as Olympus Mons. It is three times higher than our own mount Everest and extends up to 26 kms from the base! Everest seems puny if you consider the planetary mountains by solar system standards.

Mars has H₂O!
Here is one of the most interesting facts about Mars. Yes! Mars has water. However, it's in the form of solidified ice. It lies mostly in the polar regions. When our orbiters scanned the surface of Mars, they found evidence that there was freely flowing water on Mars once upon a time. As of now, it is all locked up in the polar caps!

Valles Marineris - Largest Canyon in Solar System
Mars holds one more interesting geographical landmark in the form of Valles Marineris, which is the largest canyon in the solar system with a total length of 4000 kms, with the largest width of 200 kms.

Mars Has No Magnetic Field!
One of the prime reasons why Mars has no life is that it has no magnetic field and low gravity compared to Earth. The non-existence of a magnetic field means that Mars has no protection against the torrent of solar radiation that hits its surface. This is one of the crucial facts about planet Mars that disappointed people who were eagerly looking for life on the planet. Its surface atmosphere has 95.32% carbon dioxide, which makes chances of life existing even more bleak.

Earth Dwarfs the Red Planet
If you are wondering what is Mars made of, then let me tell you, Mars is a dwarf planet compared to Earth. Its mass is only about 1/10th that of our home planet. It has a thicker crust but considerably lower gravity.

Space Exploration Of Mars
Till date, many space missions in the form of rovers, orbiters and landers have been sent to Mars. It is a fact that two-thirds of all missions deployed to the red planet have failed. A small fact about the economics of Martian exploration. To transport a single kilogram of material to Mars, it takes about $309,000. So now you know how a failed mission must be hurting! It is indeed a challenge for space technologists and scientists to design the first manned mission to Mars!

Hope these interesting facts about Mars have intrigued you enough to explore this world in greater detail. In the future, there will be a manned mission to Mars and colonization of the planet is on the cards. Currently, we can only dream about these possibilities!