Until they found out that it was a volcanic inferno that would incinerate anyone who tried to visit it, scientists considered Venus the planet that most resembled Earth. Though that distinction now goes to Mars, Earth and Mars are far from identical. Check your knowledge about the red planet -- the brightest object in the sky after the sun, moon and Venus.
Mars is covered with a thin layer of iron oxide dust, otherwise known as rust. One possible reason for its existence is the presence of surface water in Mars’ past. Another is exposure to magnetite.
Olympus Mons, the tallest mountain on Mars, is about 27 kilometers (17 miles) tall -- three times as tall as Mt. Everest. Olympus Mons is the tallest known volcanic mountain in the solar system.
Scientists have found evidence for the existence of past water deposits, including salt deposits, and erosion patterns in the highlands that suggest water could still be flowing. Moreover, the atmosphere contains trace amounts of water vapor, and water-ice clouds have been detected.
Scientists have found evidence that salt and water are present, and this may have allowed Mars to support life in the past. However, they have found no concrete evidence of life. NASA is planning to send a new rover in 2020 specifically to search for life on Mars.
The Martian atmosphere is only 1 percent as dense as that of Earth, but it is composed of 95 percent carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas. Moreover, there is more water vapor in the Martian upper atmosphere than there is in Earth’s. These gases warm the atmosphere by less than 5.5 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit).
Dust devils that form in various places on the Martian surface can travel at speeds of 162 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour). Because Mars has such a thin atmosphere, these winds would feel like a gentle breeze to an observer from Earth, where the atmosphere is 100 times as dense.
Strong winds regularly whip up Mars' fine surface layer of dust into a haze resembling cigarette smoke. Most of the dust originates in Hellas Planitia, which is located in the Southern Hemisphere of the planet and is the planet's largest impact artifact. The dust can spread over the whole planet in a matter of days.
The Martian day lasts 24 hours, 37 minutes and 22 seconds in Earth time.
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter observed clouds and snowfall around the southern pole region during the Martian winter. The snow isn’t water ice, however, but dry ice, which is frozen carbon dioxide.
The tilt of Mars’ axis is just a few degrees more than that of Earth, but Mars has an elongated orbit. As a result, the Southern Hemisphere experiences short, hot summers and long, cold winters, while the Northern Hemisphere experiences short winters and long, mild summers.
Stay grounded. You may need to do a bit more homework before going off-world.
You may not be on a fast track to be a Mars astronaut, but you may enjoy a trip the moon in 2020.
Congratulations! Perhaps you should consider joining the Mars One project. You may qualify for a trip the red planet in 2023.