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RENEE M. CONDORI APAZA ARC – NASA 2009 - CALIFORNIA

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Page 1: Mars Planet

RENEE M. CONDORI APAZA

ARC – NASA2009 - CALIFORNIA

Page 2: Mars Planet

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.

Page 3: Mars Planet

Location

Page 4: Mars Planet

Mars -- the real planet 1.5 AU from Sun

Diameter ~ ½ Earth

Mass ~ 1/10 Earth

Density 3.9 gm/cm3

Period 687d ~ 2 yrs

Rotation 24h 37m

Inclination 24o

Atm – thin, low density

CO2 95%

N 3%

A r 2%

H2O trace – clouds, ice caps

Cold, dry planet – weak greenhouse

Max 70F summer, Min -140F

Page 5: Mars Planet

Earth and Mars Comparison

EarthEarth MarsMars

RadiusRadius 6378 km6378 km 3397 km3397 km

DensityDensity 5515 kg/m5515 kg/m33 3933 kg/m3933 kg/m33

GravityGravity 9.8 m/s9.8 m/s22 3.72 m/s3.72 m/s22

YearYear 365.25 days365.25 days 686.98 days686.98 days

EccentricityEccentricity 0.0170.017 0.0940.094

DayDay 24 hours24 hours 24 hr 39 min24 hr 39 min

ObliquityObliquity 23.45º23.45º 25.19º25.19º

Page 6: Mars Planet

Hubble Telescope Picture of Mars

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope view provides the most detailed complete global coverage of the red planet Mars ever seen from Earth. This picture was taken on February 25, 1995, when Mars was at a distance of 65 million miles.

Page 7: Mars Planet

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.

Page 8: Mars Planet

The surface on Mars

Surface Color: “Red” Surface Color: “Red” FeaturesFeatures– Impact CratersImpact Craters– Largest volcano in the Largest volcano in the

solar systemsolar system(Olympus Mons)(Olympus Mons)

– Largest Canyon in the Largest Canyon in the Solar SystemSolar System(Valles Marineris)(Valles Marineris)

– Ancient river channelsAncient river channels– Lava RocksLava Rocks– Dust: Reddish from Dust: Reddish from

volcanic rockvolcanic rock

Page 9: Mars Planet

Water on Mars?

Sinusoidal channels

Laminated terrain

Ice Caps

Page 10: Mars Planet

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.

Page 11: Mars Planet

Gigantic Canyon

Valles Marineris, or Mariner Valley, 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.

Page 12: Mars Planet

Gigantic Canyon

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

Page 13: Mars Planet

Seasons on Mars

Like Earth, Mars has seasonal changes but the seasons last much longer. In Winter, 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.

Page 14: Mars Planet

Earth/Mars Comparison

Distance from Sun 141.6 Million Miles 93 Million Miles

Diameter 4222 Miles 7926 Miles

Length of Year 687 Earth Days 365.25 Days

Length of Day 24 hours 37 minutes 23 hours 56 minutes

Gravity .375 that of Earth 2.66 times that of Mars

Temperature Average -81 degrees F Average 57 degrees F

Temperature Range -127 C to 17 C -88 C to 58 C

Number of Moons 2 1

Mars Earth

Page 15: Mars Planet

Mars, the god of War

The planet was named after Mars, the Roman God of War, who was one of the most worshipped and revered gods in ancient Rome. The god Mars held a special place in the Roman Pantheon not only for his patronly influence, but because of the importance of military achievement in the republic and the Roman Empire.

Page 16: Mars Planet

Early concepts

Before space exploration, Mars was considered the best candidate for harboring extraterrestrial life. Italian astronomer, Giovanni Schiaparelli thought he saw straight lines crisscrossing its surface. This led to the popular belief that irrigation canals on the planet had been constructed by intelligent beings.

Page 17: Mars Planet

Mariner missions

In July of 1965, Mariner 4, transmitted 22 close-up pictures of Mars. All that was revealed was a surface containing many craters and naturally occurring channels but no evidence of artificial canals or flowing water.

Page 18: Mars Planet

Viking Landers

Finally, in July and September 1976, Viking Landers 1 and 2 touched down on the surface of Mars. The three biology experiments aboard the landers discovered unexpected and enigmatic chemical activity in the Martian soil, but provided no clear evidence for the presence of living microorganisms in the soil near the landing sites.

Page 19: Mars Planet

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.

Page 20: Mars Planet

The First Rover

Mars Pathfinder was the first instrumented lander and robotic rover to study the surface of Mars. Findings from the investigations carried out by scientific instruments on both the lander and the rover suggest that Mars was at one time in its past warm and wet, with water existing in its liquid state and a thicker atmosphere.

Page 21: Mars Planet

Mars Exploration Rovers

The Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, are currently studying how past water activity on Mars has influenced the red planet's environment over time.

Artist’s Concept Image: NASA

Page 22: Mars Planet

Spirit

In March 2005, Spirit studied rocks in the “Paso Robles” area that have a high sulfur content. Much of the high sulfur is contained in a hydrated iron-sulfate mineral that can only have formed in the presence of liquid water.

Page 23: Mars Planet

Opportunity

Opportunity’s spectrometer and microscopic imager found that rocks near the lower slopes of Endurance Crater were affected by water both before and after the crater formed.

Page 24: Mars Planet

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, a mobile robot for investigating Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life. Curiosity is being tested in preparation for launch in the fall of 2011.

NASA's Curiosity Mars RoverTo handle this science toolkit, Curiosity is twice as long and five times as heavy as Spirit or Opportunity. The Gale Crater landing site places the rover within driving distance of layers of the crater's interior mountain. Observations from orbit have identified clay and sulfate minerals in the lower layers, indicating a wet history.

Curiosity

Page 25: Mars Planet

Future Exploration of Mars