Mars is characterized by the largest dust storms in the solar system and its red color from iron oxide. Notable features include the massive Valles Marineris canyon and Olympus Mons, the highest peak in the solar system. Mars has low gravity, making a person weigh significantly less than on Earth, and it has an orbital period of approximately 687 days.

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2. 1 Mars has the largest dust storms in the
solar system, they can last for months and
cover the entire planet.

3. 2 Mars red color is due to iron oxide,
also known as rust, and has the
consistency of talcum powder.

4. Literally, the metallic rocks on Mars
are rusting

5. 3 No human could survive the low
pressure of Mars.

6. If you went to Mars without an
appropriate space suit, the oxygen
in your blood would literally turn
into bubbles, causing immediate
death

8. 4 Mars has an enormous canyon
named Valles Marineris (Mariner
Valley) which is an astounding
2,500 miles long and four miles
deep.

10. 5 Phobos orbits remarkably close to Mars and
is gradually sinking into the Red Planet.
In about 50 million years it will either crash into Mars or
break up and form a small ring around the planet.

11. 6 Mars has 37.5% of the gravity that
Earth has.
• This means that a 100-pound person on Earth would weigh only 38 pounds on Mars and could
jump three times as high

12. 7 Mars is home to the highest peak in the solar system: Olympus
Mons

13. 8 Galileo Galilee was the first person to observe
Mars through a telescope, in 1609

14. 9 Mars has a flag. It was designed
by a NASA engineer

15. 10
• A day in Mars lasts about
24 hours but a year lasts
approximately 687 days
— almost twice the
Earth’s. The Martian year
is equivalent to its orbital
period around the sun.
Mars is farther away from
the Sun that is why its
orbital period is longer.

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