Presenting 6 interesting facts about planet Mars
Mars is the fourth planet of our solar system; it is the next planet beyond Earth. Mars is more than 142 million miles away from the sun. The planet is about one-sixth the size of Earth. Mars is known as the Red Planet. It gets the red color from the iron in its soil. Mars has two small moons. Their names are Phobos and Deimos, however, there are many more interesting facts about planet mars.
Here’s presenting 6 interesting facts about planet Mars:
1. The first telescopic observation of planet Mars was done by Galileo Galilei, Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher in 1610. And within a century, astronomers discovered its polar ice caps.
2. Planet Mars has water- today, it is accepted that Mars had abundant water very early in its history.
Observations by the NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have revealed possible flowing water during the warmest months on Mars.
3. Planet Mars has the second highest known mountain within the Solar System (the tallest on a planet) – the mighty Olympus Mons. Olympus Mons is the youngest of the large volcanoes on Mars, having formed during Mars’s Amazonian Period. It has a height of nearly 22 km (14 mi) by one measure and stands almost three times as tall as Mount Everest’s height above sea level.
4. Mars is the site of Valles Marineris, the greatest gorge on any planet in the Solar System. Valles Marineris was caused when volcanoes erupting around it tore up the land, leaving a huge valley. Stretching over 4,000 km along the equator of planet Mars, Valles Marineris can be as deep as 7 km in places.
5. Planet Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, which consists of 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, 1.6% argon and trace amounts of water and oxygen.
6. Currently, planet Mars is host to five functioning spacecraft: three in orbit — the Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and two on the surface — Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity and the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity.
