Planet Mars

Planet Mars is the fourth planet in the solar system, the closest to Earth and will probably be the first planet on which humans will be able to visit in the future. The name of this planet comes from the Greek god of war, Ares – which is Roman mythology carried the name Mars. Information related to planet Mars has been gathered and studied for many years.

Compared to Earth the size of Mars is about 1.5 times bigger. It is composed of iron, nickel an sulfur, with a crust consisting largely of volcanic rock basalt. A Martian magnetic field is nonexistent, but there are some regions that are highly magnetized. The atmosphere on Mars in composed mostly of carbon dioxide, with less than 5% other gases.

Mars orbits the Sun in 687 days and rotates around its axis in 24 hours, 37 minutes and 22.6 seconds. This means that a Martian day is just a little longer than one on Earth, but a Martian year is almost twice as long. Due to its eccentric orbit and the tilted axis seasons on Mars exist as they do on Earth, though they certainly are different, with extreme temperatures in summer and winter.

The planet can be seen from Earth easily with a telescope. The surface of Mars is red, calling upon the name of the Red Planet, with which it has been referred to as. It is home to high mountains and deep valleys, holding the record in the entire solar system for both. The Martian surface has volcanic cones and plains, as well as a very huge volcano.

The occasional volcanic eruptions, the minus 60 to 125 degrees Celsius, the large dust storms and the nonexistence of water and a breathable atmosphere make the planet Mars an unlikely candidate for life. However exploration of Mars has been going on for decades, as well as the exploration of Mars moons Phobos and Deimos. From the research we have until now planet Mars colonizing could be something that may happen in our distant future. Living on Mars may be the first largest step that humans will take into conquering the universe, read all about it here at DigablePlanets.org.