Mars Basics
Size & Distance
Size & Distance
Smaller than Earth (0.532x)
• Mars diam ~ 6779 km (4212 miles)
• Earth diam ~ 12,742 km (7918 miles)
8 Mars would fit inside the Earth!
1.5 AU from the sun (~140 million miles)
0.5 AU from the Earth (~43 million miles)
SCALE!!!
Scale
Using an Earth balloon and Mars balloon to scale:
• Q: How far away do you think Mars would be?
• A: ~0.4 miles (0.64 km)
Courtyard Marriott
Four Points by Sheraton
Rotation & Revolution
One Martian day (sol) is 24 hours and 37 minutes
One Martian year is 687 Earth days, almost two Earth years
Seasons
Like Earth, Mars tilts
This tilt contributes to seasons; orbit also contributes
AtmosphereMars does have an
atmosphere, though it is very thin
Air pressure at the surface is about 1/100th the surface pressure on the Earth
• Earth: 1013mb• Mars: 7mb
Mostly carbon dioxide, some nitrogen
• 95% CO2
• 2.7% N2
• 1.6% Ar• 0.13% O2
Mars is Cold!Average temperature is about -80° F
Can drop to -195° F near the poles (winter); can reach 70° F near the equator
Large day to night (diurnal) temperature variation
You can Follow Mars Weather reports from the Curiosity rover here:
• Mars Weather on Twitter (@MarsWxReport) https://twitter.com/MarsWxReport
Polar Caps
Northern cap (left) is made of alternating layers of dust and water-ice
Southern cap (right) is made of alternating layers of dust and water-ice below, carbon dioxide ice on top
Giant Volcanos
400 miles!
Valles Marineris
An Impact Scarred Surface
Argyre Basin
1150 miles!
50 km
Ravi VallisAncient Floods
Streamlined Features
Valley Networks
25 km
5 km
Phobos and Deimos
~17 MILES
11
MILES
A Desert World
A Geologic Time Machine
A Dusty Place
Mars Spirit Rover at Gusev Crater
Mini-tornados - 20 to 60 mph wind
30 to 300 feet wide, up to 6 miles high