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Named after the Roman God of War, Mars has fascinated people since the discovery of itself. Red and orange, but planet glows as if filled with life, the question that is probably the most sought after about this planet. Now, it is nothing but a very cold, high altitude desert. It is the fourth planet from the sun, and is the brightest after Venus. The maximum summer temperature will reach 290K(63F), but the average daily temperature does not exceed -27F. The planet is covered with a mineral called scapolite, which is very rare on earth. Most of its surface is flat and rocky, but there are portions that are mountainous. Probably the most famous mountain is the face of mars, also called Cydonia. | |
| Mars is extremely fascinating to astronomers because of the clear evidence of erosion due to a liquid, most likely water. There are many trenches and caverns all along its surface, but there is also a vast channel system. All along the martian surface, deep channels seem to form a system as they wind themselves around the planet. The incredible thing about the channels is that they have been dated to as far back as 4.6 billion years old. There are two types of channels: large outflow channels and smaller flow channels. The large outflow channels are believed to be where water poured out of from larger bodies, and the flow channels to like little streams from larger sources. Most of the outflow channels have been eroded away, but enough was there for scientists to deduce that there may have once been water on the planet. |
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In the past two years, there has been much advancement on the study of mars. On December 4, 1996, the Pathfinder was launched on its journey to Mars. It landed on July 4, 1997. Its mission was to collect as much information on the planets surroundings, including pictures, rocks, and to map out the landscape. The Pathfinder, along with the Sojourner Rover, hit the surface of Mars at about 40mph, and bounced 15 times before rolling to a stop. Airbags helped to cushion the land, and afterwards it ran mostly on solar panels. Originally the Pathfinder had been known as the Mars Environmental Survey, or MESUR Pathfinder, but most found it more appealing just as the Pathfinder. It collected more information about the atmosphere. Mars' atmosphere is made up of 95% carbon dioxide, 2.7% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, .2% oxygen, and traces of water vapor, carbon monoxide, and other noble gases. |
