What is Mars? Mars is a red planet that is made mostly of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and argon. Mars is the second smallest planet, after Mercury. It is less than half the size of Earth. Mars’ gravity is three point seven one one so a person could jump three times higher on this planet. The orbital period is six hundred and eighty seven days, nearly two times longer than Earth’s. Also, Mars has two known moons which …show more content…
Where is Mars located in the solar system? Mars does have a nickname, and it is “Red Planet” because of its reddish appearance from rust colored dust on the surface. The rust colored dust is due to the iron-rich minerals that make up the surface of the planet. Mars is the fourth planet from the sun. It is exactly two hundred and twenty eight million kilometers away from the sun, so Mars is too cold to have any living things on its surface. Its average temperature is negative eighty degrees Fahrenheit. Like Earth, Mars is tilted on an axis which means that there are seasons on Mars. The temperature ranges from seventy degrees Fahrenheit to negative one hundred ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit. Mars is a terrestrial planet, which means that it has a hard surface of rocks or minerals. It is one of four Earth-like terrestrial planets. It has a cold, thin atmosphere so water can’t stay on the surface for very long. All of these details were found by scientists observing the planet or from space missions. Do you know what kinds of space missions have been there or how many space missions have been to Mars? What other things have scientists found out about