Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hang out far, far away on Mars? Well, you are in luck, because this article has all you need to know about our red neighbor.
Mars, (also known as The Red Planet) is a planet with a very thin atmosphere that is about 100 times thinner than Earth’s. If you were to live there, then you would have to wear a spacesuit every day. I like to have a different outfit all the time, so Mars might not be the best place for me. There is red dust all over, which is why they call Mars “The Red Planet”. The average temperature on Mars is minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit. That is colder than both the North and the South pole on Earth in the Winter. You would freeze your toes off in about 5 seconds! Mars is 4.5 billion years old, just like Earth!
Mars has two moons called Deimos and Phobos. Deimos is in a bit of a wonky triangular shape, and Phobos is a kind of circular shape with lots of deep craters. Imagine stargazing on Mars and seeing 2 moons instead of 1 every night. That would be amazing! These moons were discovered by an astronomer named Asaph Hall in 1877.
It takes about 6 months to fly all the way from Earth to Mars. Imagine being the first astronaut to sit in a ship for over 6 months to get all the way to Mars. It is probably very boring, but at least, the astronauts get to explore a whole new planet after the trip. So far, no people have ever walked around on Mars, just rovers.
A day on Mars lasts 24 hours and 39 minutes (night and day). Here on Earth it lasts 24 hours (night and day). This is because Mars spins 2.7 percent slower than Earth. You know what that means, more sunshine!
Mars is smaller than Earth. It is about as wide as the continent of Africa. To be exact, Mars is 4,212.3 miles wide and Africa is 4,600 miles wide. Mars is a little more than half as big as Earth.
Many people always wonder two things about Mars. First – is there life on Mars? Second – is there water on Mars? Well, I don’t know if there is life on Mars, but I can say that there is water there. It is in the form of polar ice caps, and can be processed to make water for astronauts. These polar ice caps are on the North and South poles of Mars.
Mars was named after the Roman god of war, and that’s because of its color. Red is the color of blood, so they named it after Mars. In fact, many planets and other objects in space were named after Roman gods. For example, Saturn was also named after a Roman god. It was named after Saturn, who was the king of all the gods.
Mars is a really cool planet, and (other than Earth) it is my favorite. What is your favorite planet?
The Lighthouse 