Mars is nicknamed the Red Planet due to the iron oxide in its soil. It has a thin atmosphere composed primarily of carbon dioxide. Mars is about half the diameter of Earth and has a day that is only slightly longer than an Earth day. It has two small moons, Phobos and Deimos, that are irregularly shaped and may be captured asteroids. The largest volcano in the solar system, Olympus Mons, and deepest canyon, Valles Marineris, are both located on Mars. Water ice is found at the poles and it is possible that liquid water exists underground. Seasonal dust storms can blanket the entire planet. Mars is considered Earth's closest planetary neighbor and is sometimes called the "Red Planet" or

1. RED PLANET MARS
Mars

2. Mars is named after the
roman god of war with a
symbol of

3. ARES

4. Information of Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and is commonly referred to
as the Red Planet.The rocks and soil have a red or pink hue due to
the iron oxiode (rust) they contain .
Planets of the Solar System

5. Mars:
Earth’s
little
brother

6. Why Mars?
 Elliptical orbit like Earth
 Potential for colony

7. What are the similarities and differences you notice?

8. Size
 Smaller than
Earth
 8 Mars would fit
inside the Earth!

9. Atmospheres: Are they similar?
Why?
Nitrogen: 78%
Oxygen: 21 %
Argon: 0.9%
Water: > 1%
Carbon Doxide: 0.002%
Carbon Doxide: 95.%
Nitrogen: 3%
Argon: 2%
Oxygen: 0.1%
Water: > 0.03%
Constituents:

10. Days and Years
 One martian day
is 24 hours and
37 minutes
 One martian year
is 686 earth days,
almost two Earth
years

11. Basic Facts
 Distance from Sun ≈1.52 times as far as Earth
 Time to Orbit the Sun ~ 26 Earth months
 Atmosphere ~ Mostly carbon dioxide
 Martian Day ~ 24.7 hours
 Temperature on the planet’s surface hardly
rises above freezing point

12. Atmosphere on Mars
Mars has a rocky, dry terrain with huge volcanoes and deep
valleys.The atmosphere is much thinner than Earth’s and is
comprised primarily of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. It’s
gravity is about one-third of our own.

13. Atmosphere
 Very thin atmosphere
 Mainly carbon dioxide
 No oxygen
 Dusty, makes the sky
pinkish, lots of dust storms
 Composition: 95% CO2, 3% N,
1.5% Ar, 0.1% O2, 0.03% H2O

14. Mars is Dry
 No lakes, rivers,
or oceans

15. Mars is Cold
 High = 40F
 Low = -195F

16. Moons of Mars
 Mars has two tiny moons
named “Deimos” (Panic) &
“Phobos” (Fear)
 The moons are irregular
and very small in size
 Phobos 27x22x18 km
 Deimos 15x12x10 km
 The moons are probably
asteroids captured by Mars
Deimos Phobos
Image Courtesy of NASA

17. The two Martian moons resemble
asteroids
 Mars has two small, football-shaped satellites that move in
orbits close to the surface of the planet
 They may be captured asteroids or may have formed in orbit
around Mars out of solar system debris

18. Seasons on Mars
Like Earth, Mars has seasonal changes but the seasons last much longer.
InWinter, Mars’ polar ice cap can reach down to 45 degrees latitude and
then rapidly shrink during Spring. Dust storms are seasonal, also, as
witnessed in this Hubble image.

19. The two faces of mars
the nortern hemisphere and
the southern hemisphere

20. Largest Volcano on Mars
The largest volcano in the solar
system is Olympus Mons. It is
624 km (374 miles) in diameter;
about the same size as Arizona.
The altitude of Olympus Mons
is three times the altitude of
the largest peak on Earth, Mt.
Everest.

21. Polar Ice Caps
 Mars’s polar caps contain frozen water, a
layer of permafrost may exist below the
Martian regolith, and there may be liquid
water beneath the surface
 The Martian polar caps expand in winter as a
thin layer of frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) is
deposited from the atmosphere

22. Mars Atmosphere

23. Gigantic Canyon
Valles Marineris, or
MarinerValley, is a vast
canyon system that runs
along the Martian
equator. Valles Marineris
is 2500 miles long and
reaches depths of up to 4
miles.

24. Gigantic Canyon
For comparison, the
Grand Canyon in
Arizona is about 500
miles long and 1 mile
deep. In fact, the extent
ofValles Marineris is as
long as the United
States and it spans
about 20 percent (1/5) of
athe entire distance
around Mars.

25. Mars Surface Features
 Surface Color: “Red”
 Features
 Impact Craters
 Largest volcano in the solar
system
(Olympus Mons)
 Largest Canyon in the Solar
System
(Valles Marineris)
 Ancient river channels
 Lava Rocks
 Dust: Reddish from volcanic
rock
Valles Marineris
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech

26. The Martian atmosphere changes dramatically
with the seasons
 Great dust storms sometimes blanket Mars
 Fine-grained dust in its atmosphere gives the
Martian sky a pinkish-orange tint
 Seasonal winds blow dust across the face of
Mars, covering and uncovering the underlying
surface material and causing seasonal color
changes

27. Viking Landers
According to scientists, Mars is self-sterilizing. They believe the
combination of solar ultraviolet radiation that saturates the surface,
the extreme dryness of the soil and the oxidizing nature of the soil
chemistry prevent the formation of living organisms in the Martian
soil.The question of life on Mars at some time in the distant past
remains open.

28. Is there Water on Mars?
 Water is the key to life as we know it
 The north and south poles of Mars are
covered with thick ice or frost
 Some astronomers about 100 years ago
thought there were canals on Mars dug by
intelligent civilization
 Space probes to date have not found any
traces of canals on Mars

29. Odyssey
 Discovered subsurface
water ice near poles
 Track changes of polar
ice, clouds and dust
storms
 Generated maps of
radiation and minerals
Image Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech

30. QUIZ
1).What planet is the Red Planet.?
2). How many mars could fit inside the earth?
3). How many earth days of one martian year?
4).What is the two tiny moons of planet mars?
5).What shaped resemble of the two moons of mars?
6).What is the largest volcano in the solar system?
7).What is the gigantic canyon in the solar system?
8).What planet is Earth’s little brother?
9). How many months last the dust storm in mars?
10).Who is the god of war?