Mars, The Red Planet

Mars, it’s where aliens come from, a Hollywood Sci-Fi mainstay, the mysterious

red planet. But, what is Mars really? Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, orbiting

227,940,000 km away. It’s diameter of 6,794 km and mass of 6.4219e23 kg, makes

it the seventh largest planet in our solar system.

Mars, which is the Greek name for the god of War, probably got this name due to

it’s red color, and is often referred to as the red planet. What makes Mars look red?

Mars’ atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, which oxidizes iron on the planet’s surface

to create rust. Because there is very little water vapor on Mars, dry winds pick up and

blow the dust around the planet, coloring it red.

What would you see if you went for a nature walk on Mars? Among the surface

features are giant volcanoes and vast canyons. The largest volcano in the entire solar

system is on Mars, Olympus Mons. It is classified as a shield volcano, similar to the

volcanoes in Hawaii. Olympus Mons, three times higher than Mount Everest, is twenty-

five kilometers high, surrounded by a 550 kilometer moat filled with lava. The Valles

Marineris canyon is 4500 kilometers long and reaches seven kilometers deep and 600

kilometers across. There are also many meteorite impact craters.

Why couldn’t you take a nature walk on Mars? The atmosphere is not only very

thin, it’s made almost completely of CO2 and known for its raging dust storms. You

would...