Some Facts About Mars

Photo from NASA images

• It takes Mars approximately 687 Earth days to complete one orbit around the Sun.

• A day on Mars, known as a "sol," is approximately 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35 seconds in Earth metrics.

• Mars has a diameter of about 4,212 miles (6,779 kilometers), making it roughly half the size of Earth. Its surface is covered with iron oxide, giving it a reddish appearance, and it has the largest volcano (Olympus Mons) and canyon (Valles Marineris) in the solar system.

• Mars has a very thin atmosphere composed mostly of carbon dioxide (95%), with traces of nitrogen and argon.

• Mars is much colder than Earth, with average surface temperatures around -80 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperature extremes can range from -195 degrees Fahrenheit during winter at the poles to 70 degrees Fahrenheit in summer at the equator.

• Mars has polar ice caps made of water and carbon dioxide ice. Evidence suggests that liquid water once existed on Mars, but today it is mostly found as ice.

• Mars has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are thought to be captured asteroids.

• The gravity on Mars is about 38% of Earth's gravity. This means a person weighing 100 pounds on Earth would weigh only 38 pounds on Mars.