Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is the second smallest planet in the solar system. Named after the Roman god of war, Mars is also often described as the “Red Planet” due to its reddish appearance.
Mars and Earth have approximately the same landmass. Even though Mars has only 15% of the Earth’s volume and just over 10% of the Earth’s mass, around two thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered in water. Martian surface gravity is only 37% of the Earth’s (meaning you could leap nearly three times higher on Mars).
Mars Facts
- Equatorial Diameter: 6,792 km
- Polar Diameter: 6,752 km
- Mass: 6.39 × 10^23 kg(0.11 Earths)
- Moons: 2 (Phobos & Deimos)
- Orbit Distance: 227,943,824 km(1.38 AU)
- Orbit Period: 687 days (1.9 years)
- Surface Temperature: -87 to -5°C;
- First Record: 2nd millennium BC