Robert’s Out of This World Space Odyssey: Mars, Who Earth Would Borrow a Cup of Sugar From

Wave to Earth as we pass by on our way to the next planet: Mars!

On a dark night, with a good idea where to look, you can see Mars from Earth. It will look like a bright red dot in the night sky. The ancient Romans named this planet after their god of war and destruction because of its blood red color.

Mars is Earth’s closest neighbor – only 33,900,000 miles (54,500,000 kilometers) away at its closest. Although not the smallest, Mars is no giant. It is about half the size of Earth. The planet does have a very thin atmosphere that is thick enough to have some clouds and weather patterns. The average temperature on Mars is -80°F (-60°C), but can range from -195°F (-125°C) at the poles to around 70°F (20°C) at the equator. Mars has a similar solar day to Earth that lasts 24 hours 39 minutes 35 seconds long. A year on Mars lasts 687 Earth days and is complete with seasons (thanks to a lovely tilt on the axis).

Just like all of the other rocky planets, Mars is covered with volcanoes, valleys, large continents, rocks, blah, blah, blah. Mars is famous for its color, which it gets from its dirt. The soil on Mars contains lots of iron-rich minerals which provide the lovely rust color. Unlike the other rocky planets, Mars does not have a magnetic field. So if you ever get lost there, don’t bother with a compass.

Accompanying Mars through its cosmic voyage are its two moons (satellites): Phobos and Deimos. Named after the two sons of the god Aries (the Greek version of the god Mars), these two moons are not exactly what you think of when you think of a moon. They are very small (Phobos is the largest with a diameter of 17 miles and then Deimos with a diameter of 9 miles) and irregularly shaped. In space, things become round because gravity pulls of them. These two moons are too small to have their own significant gravitational force. Although still debated, it is believed that these moons were actually asteroids that came a little too close to Mars and got stuck in orbit around the planet.

I would hope that all of you have at least heard about the missions to Mars. The world is very interested in studying our closest neighbor. Finding water on the surface of Mars was a huge deal and hints that life may be possible on this planet.