Exploring the Solar System


Mars
Mars
Mars
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Today it's a very dry, very cold place, but Mars once may have had lakes and seas of water. Ancient features seeming to resemble islands, sandbars and shorelines on Earth can be seen in photos of Martian terrain taken from 1976 to 1981 by the Viking spacecraft in orbit around the Red Planet.

Mars, the Red Planet, the fourth planet from the Sun is named for the Roman god of war. Seen as a red dot in Earth's night sky, it is 1.5 times farther from the Sun than the Earth is. The globe of Mars is only half as large as the Earth.

Mars is more like Earth than any other planet. Its period of rotation and the inclination of its axis are similar. Its density indicates it's made of rocky materials, although with less iron and more lightweight elements and volatiles than the Earth. Its atmosphere is thin enough to allow us to see the surface.



Solar System: The Sun
Inner System: Mercury Venus Earth Mars
Outer System: Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto
Other Bodies: Moons Rings Asteroids Comets

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