Everything You Should Know About Planet Mars

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Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is known for its rusty red color and two unusual moons. The Red Planet is a cold, desert world with a very thin atmosphere. Despite its lifeless appearance, Mars is fascinating.

Dust storms can grow so large they cover the entire planet. Temperatures can drop so low that carbon dioxide condenses into snow. Marsquakes occur regularly, shaking the surface. This unique environment intrigues scientists, making Mars one of the most explored bodies in the solar system.

Liquid water likely cannot exist on Mars’s surface for long due to its thin atmosphere. Features called recurring slope lineae may show evidence of briny water, but this is debated. Some scientists think the hydrogen detected there could indicate briny salts instead. Though Mars is only half the diameter of Earth, it has the same amount of dry land.

Mars has both the tallest mountain and the deepest, longest valley in the solar system. Olympus Mons rises about 17 miles (27 kilometers) high, nearly three times the height of Mount Everest. The Valles Marineris system, discovered by the Mariner 9 probe in 1971, reaches depths of 6 miles (10 km) and stretches about 2,500 miles (4,000 km) across.

Scientists believe Valles Marineris formed mainly by the stretching of the crust. Some canyons within the system are as wide as 60 miles (100 km). These canyons may have once been filled with liquid water, as indicated by large channels and layered sediments.

Mars also features the largest volcanoes in the solar system, including Olympus Mons. This shield volcano, about 370 miles (600 km) in diameter, was formed by long-lasting lava flows. Mars has various volcanic landforms, from small cones to vast plains of hardened lava. Some minor eruptions may still happen today.

Many channels and valleys on Mars suggest that liquid water may have flowed across the surface recently. Some channels can reach 60 miles (100 km) wide and 1,200 miles (2,000 km) long. Water might still exist in underground rock cracks. A 2018 study indicated that salty water beneath the surface could support microbial life, depending on temperature and pressure.

Mars’s northern plains are some of the flattest and smoothest in the solar system, likely shaped by ancient water flow. The northern hemisphere is lower in elevation than the southern, possibly due to a large impact early in Mars’s history.

Craters on Mars vary widely, reflecting the surface’s age. The southern hemisphere has many craters, including the massive Hellas Planitia, while the northern hemisphere has fewer due to younger surfaces. Some volcanoes show few craters, indicating recent eruptions. Unusual debris around some craters might suggest impacts hit underground water or ice.

In 2018, the European Space Agency’s Mars Express detected what may be a body of water beneath icy Planum Australe, about 12.4 miles (20 km) across. This underground water resembles Antarctic lakes known to host microbes. Mars Express also identified a large icy area in Korolev Crater.

Image by Kamran Abdullayev for Unsplash

Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, discovered by astronomer Asaph Hall in 1877. Hall’s wife, Angelina, encouraged him to continue searching for Mars’s moon. Phobos means “fear” and Deimos means “rout,” named after the sons of the Greek war god Ares.

Both moons are tiny compared to Earth’s moon, with Phobos measuring about 17 miles (27 km) wide and Deimos about 9 miles (15 km) wide. They are irregularly shaped due to their low gravity and are covered in dust and loose rocks. Both moons bear craters from meteor impacts, and Phobos has grooves likely formed from the impact that created its largest crater.

It’s unclear how Phobos and Deimos formed. They might be captured asteroids or formed in orbit around Mars. Evidence suggests Phobos is a captured asteroid.

Phobos is gradually spiraling toward Mars, moving about 6 feet (1.8 meters) closer each century. In about 50 million years, it will either collide with Mars or break apart, forming a ring of debris.

The Martian atmosphere is composed mainly of carbon dioxide (95.32%), with smaller amounts of nitrogen, argon, oxygen, and other gases. Mars lost its global magnetic field about 4 billion years ago, which allowed solar wind to strip away much of its atmosphere. However, some crust regions are strongly magnetized, indicating remnants of an ancient magnetic field.

NASA’s InSight lander has been studying Mars’s interior since November 2018. It measures marsquakes and tracks the planet’s tilt. Recent findings suggest the core is 1,110 to 1,300 miles (1,780 to 2,080 km) wide, with the crust averaging 14 to 45 miles (24 to 72 km) thick.

Mars likely has a solid core made of iron, nickel, and sulfur. Its mantle may be similar to Earth’s, primarily consisting of silicon, oxygen, iron, and magnesium. The crust is likely composed of basalt, a common volcanic rock.

Image by Vicky Vale for Unsplash

Mars is much colder than Earth, with an average temperature of about minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 60 degrees Celsius). Temperatures can vary from minus 195 F (minus 125 C) at the poles to 70 F (20 C) near the equator.

The carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere is about 100 times less dense than Earth’s but still supports weather, clouds, and winds. The atmosphere varies seasonally, as winter causes carbon dioxide to freeze. In ancient times, Mars likely had a thicker atmosphere that could support flowing water.

NASA’s MAVEN mission studies how lighter atmospheric molecules have escaped Mars over time. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter found carbon-dioxide snow clouds, making Mars the only body known to have such winter weather.

Mars experiences the largest dust storms in the solar system, which can cover the entire planet for months. These storms can be caused by airborne dust particles absorbing sunlight, creating warm air pockets that generate winds. These winds can lift more dust, creating a cycle.

These storms can pose risks to Martian rovers. For instance, NASA’s Opportunity rover was lost in a massive storm in 2018 when dust blocked sunlight from its solar panels for weeks.


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