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