Mars: Mars, The Third Planet To Earth

1574 Words4 Pages

Mars, which is also known as the red planet, is the fourth planet away from the sun. It is the second smallest planet in the solar system after Mercury. Mars was named after the Roman god of war. In many Chinese cultures Mars was known as the fire star, which is a name that was based on the ancient Chinese, and was it was usually associated with war and death. Mars has two moons; Phobos and Deimos. These two moons are just like Earth’s moon, because they present the same face to their planet. This essay will recognize Mars’ moons, it’s terrestrial landscape, the missions to Mars, its general information, and also how Mars compares to Earth.
The planet Mars has two moons; one named Deimos and the other named Phobos. Mars’ moon Phobos is a little bit larger than Deimos. Phobos and Deimos was most likely a captured asteroid from the asteroid belt. Phobos orbits Mars three times a day and Deimos takes thirty hours to orbit Mars once. The two moons are lumpy, covered with dust, and heavily cratered. This means that there are depressions in the surface of the moons. These two moons are the smallest moons in the solar systems. The moon Phobos, was named after one of the horses that drove the Roman god Mars’ chariot. The moon Deimos, was named after one of the Roman god Mars’ companion. Every century the moon Phobos circles inward 1.8 meters. It is predicted that in about fifty million years Phobos will crash into Mars and make a ring around the planet. The two moons are in the darkest part of the solar system. They are made of carbon rock and mixed with ice. Just like Earth’s moons, Phobos and Deimos both also present the same face to their planet. It wouldn’t be possible to live on Mars’s moon Phobos, because this moon has 1/1000th of...

... middle of paper ...

...ide back into its atmosphere. It is deadly to explore Mars without a spacesuit because the temperature on Mars can come down to -87 degrees C. Mars is made up of 95% carbon dioxide which is very poisonous to breathe in. Overall Mars and Earth are similar in many ways but are also very different.
To recap, the planet Mars which is also known as the “red planet” or the “terrestrial planet” is most similar to Earth. It has an atmosphere made up of mostly carbon dioxide and can drop to very cold temperatures. These are also some reasons that you can not go to Mars without wearing a spacesuit. Mars is the fourth planet away from the sun and the second smallest planet in the solar system after Mercury. Mars also has two moons; named Phobos and Deimos. In conclusion, there have been many missions to Mars and it is the most studied planet in the solar system.

Open Document