Mars Pictures


picture of Mars

This view of Mars shows the extensive canyon system
that runs through the center, called Valles Marineris.
It is over 2486 miles long (4000 km) and up to
5 miles deep (8 km).

picture of Olympus Mons

This is a view of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano
in the Solar System! It is 374 miles in diameter (601.7 km)
and 16 miles high (25.7 km). Olympus Mons is located
near the equator on the Tharsis Plateau.

Mars Facts


Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the seventh largest. Its temperature ranges from 140 K (-133 C, -207 F) at the polar ice caps to 300 K (27 C, 80 F) during the Martian summer in daytime. Mars has a very interesting terrain. Olympus Mons is the highest point in the Solar System (see picture above). The Tharsis Plateau is a huge bulge on the surface of Mars, about 2486 miles across (4000 km) and up to 6.2 miles high (10 km). Valles Marineris is an extensive canyon system (see top picture). Hellas Planitia is a large impact crater in the southern hemisphere of Mars. It is over 3.72 miles deep (6 km) and 1240 miles in diameter (2000 km). Mars has two small satellites, Phobos and Deimos. The thin Martian atmosphere is made up of 95.3% Carbon Dioxide, 2.7% Nitrogen, and 1.6% Argon with trace amounts of Oxygen (0.15%) and
water (0.03%).

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