What is a cool fact about Mars?

1) Named after the Roman God of war, Mars is the fourth planet from the sun in our solar system. 2) Mars is also known as the 'Red Planet' because, well, it's red! This signature colour comes from the large amount of a chemical called iron oxide (or 'rust' as you might know it) in its rocks and soil.

What are 10 interesting facts about Mars?

What is the craziest fact about Mars?

Mars has an atmosphere that is 100 times less dense than the one we have here on Earth. While our atmosphere is nitrogen and oxygen rich, the Martian atmosphere is composed primarily of carbon dioxide. With an atmosphere like that, Mars would take your breath away!

What is special about Mars?

​Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun – a dusty, cold, desert world with a very thin atmosphere. Mars is also a dynamic planet with seasons, polar ice caps, canyons, extinct volcanoes, and evidence that it was even more active in the past.

Is Mars cold or hot?

Is Mars red hot? Mars may look hot, but don't let its color fool you -- Mars is actually pretty cold! In orbit, Mars is about 50 million miles farther away from the Sun than Earth. That means it gets a lot less light and heat to keep it warm.

Top 10 AMAZING FACTS ABOUT MARS

Why Mars is red?

Well, a lot of rocks on Mars are full of iron, and when they're exposed to the great outdoors, they 'oxidize' and turn reddish - the same way an old bike left out in the yard gets all rusty. When rusty dust from those rocks gets kicked up in the atmosphere, it makes the martian sky look pink.

Does it rain on Mars?

Because of Mars' very low atmospheric pressure, any water that tried to exist on the surface would quickly boil away. atmosphere as well as around mountain peaks. No precipitation falls however.

How cold is Mars?

Overall, Mars is cold—its average global temperature is around -80 degrees Fahrenheit—and has a much thinner atmosphere than Earth. Because it has about a sixth of the pressure of Earth's atmosphere, the planet doesn't retain heat very long, causing temperatures to drop quickly.

Can you live on Mars?

Survivability. Plants and animals cannot survive the ambient conditions on the surface of Mars.

Is Mars colder than Earth?

The temperature on Mars is much colder than on Earth. But then, the planet is also farther from the sun. The small, barren planet also has a thin atmosphere that is 95 percent carbon dioxide.

How long is a day on Mars?

Mars is a planet with a very similar daily cycle to the Earth. Its sidereal day is 24 hours, 37 minutes and 22 seconds, and its solar day 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds. A Martian day (referred to as “sol”) is therefore approximately 40 minutes longer than a day on Earth.

Is there water on Mars?

Abundant water ice is also present beneath the permanent carbon dioxide ice cap at the Martian south pole and in the shallow subsurface at more temperate conditions. More than 5 million km³ of ice have been detected at or near the surface of Mars, enough to cover the whole planet to a depth of 35 meters (115 ft).

Can plants grow on Mars?

Research suggests Martian soil has some of the nutrients plants need to grow and survive (see “Plants' Nutrients,” right). But because of Mars's extremely cold conditions, plants such as Watney's potatoes would need to grow inside a controlled environment, such as his Hab.

Does it snow on Mars?

Yes. In fact, snow has already been detected falling on Mars – though up in its atmosphere rather than settling on the ground. In 2008, NASA's Mars Phoenix Lander detected snow falling from clouds about 4km (13,000ft) above the planet's surface.

How old is Mars?

Mars was formed at the same time as the rest of the Solar System, from a large spinning disk of gas and dust. Astronomers think that all this happened about 4.6 billion years ago! So Mars is about 4.6 billion years old.

Does Mars have lightning?

The simple answer to that question is that yes, there will be some “lightning” on Mars during dust storms or other events with a lot of dust flying around, but it will not be anywhere near the scale of the storms seen on Earth.

Does Mars get tornadoes?

These dust devils are common in this region of Mars in spring and summer, when the Sun heats up the surface, and warm, rising air currents being to rotate. According to other images captured by the MRO's onboard HiRISE camera, it's estimated that wind speeds for these little sand tornadoes can reach 110 km/hour.

How did Mars get its name?

Namesake. Mars was named by the ancient Romans for their god of war because its reddish color was reminiscent of blood.

Why is Mars so cold?

The atmosphere of Mars is also rich in carbon dioxide (above 96%), but it is extremely thin (1% of Earth's atmosphere), very dry and located further away from the Sun. This combination makes the planet an incredibly cold place. The absence of water makes the temperature on Mars change a lot.

How many rings does Mars have?

Currently, Mars has no rings and two small moons: Deimos (12 kilometres in diameter) and Phobos (22 kilometres). Deimos lies farther out and takes slightly more than a Martian day to orbit the planet.

Is Mars blue?

The Red Planet does not actually have blue patches; the blue regions in this false-color image represent colder areas, and warmer features are seen as a yellowish-orange color, NASA officials said.

Could a bird fly on Mars?

An open-beaked bird appears perched on a rock, poised for flight. If this rock were a real bird, it would need to learn new ways to fly. It might be easy to lift off in the weaker gravity of Mars, but staying in flight would be hard. That's because Mars has a thin atmosphere and low air pressure.

Is water on Mars drinkable?

It's official. NASA scientists have found evidence of present-day liquid water on Mars. But before you start thinking about a second home there, know this: that water isn't drinkable. It's chock full of salts called perchlorates that can be toxic to humans.

What animal can live on Mars?

Methanogens -- among the simplest and oldest organisms on Earth -- could survive on Mars, new research suggests. Methanogens, microorganisms in the domain Archaea, use hydrogen as their energy source and carbon dioxide as their carbon source, to metabolize and produce methane, also known as natural gas.