Scientists are still exploring whether Mars was ever home to life in its past and exploring methods to extract water from its soil.
To gain a better understanding of this intriguing planet, we turned to some LSU experts for insight on its many mysteries and quarries. They provided answers to some commonly-asked questions regarding Mars.
What is Mars?
Mars is much smaller than Earth and has an extremely thin atmosphere, but scientists speculate that early in its history it once had thicker air which may have allowed more water to reach the surface, increasing chances for rivers and lakes to form; one such example being Eberswalde crater where small streams carved tree-like networks of valleys which eventually led to lakes.
Mars, like other rocky planets, features a dense core composed of iron, nickel and sulfur. This core is then covered by an opaque mantle filled with silicate minerals which exhibit evidence of past tectonic activity; finally its outer layer forms a similar-to-Earth crust layer. Furthermore, Mars hosts two small moons called Phobos and Deimos for additional exploration – each year is 687 days on Mars which makes it the fourth planet away from our Sun.
How did Mars get its name?
Mars is famed for its distinctive red hue, caused by iron-rich minerals in its regolith – loose dust and rock that covers its surface – as seen from space. Romans associated this hue with war, so they named Mars after their god of war: Mars Claudius Martius (also spelled Martianus). Additionally, two small moons named Phobos and Deimos after Greek figures connected with this god of war were given.
Astronomy and astrology have played an essential part in human understanding of Mars for thousands of years, inspiring both science fiction that may one day come true and popular culture’s fascination with it. Today, Mars continues to capture our imaginations: during certain years when Mars is close to Earth, large telescopes can be used by astronomers to view details on its surface from orbit – giving us an idea of what life may look like on this distant world while inspiring science fiction that may one day become reality.
Who landed the first rover on Mars?
Sojourner was the inaugural NASA-built vehicle to safely land on Mars on July 4, 1997, carried by Pathfinder lander. Both successfully reached Ares Valley without issue.
The lander opened to reveal a six-wheeled microwave-oven-sized rover which promptly started sending back photos. These pictures inspired an ongoing fascination with Mars that continues today.
Sojourner’s mission proved that rovers could successfully reach Mars, opening the way for further exploration of this intriguing planet. Other rovers followed suit – US’s Curiosity and Opportunity and China’s Zhurong (SN: 1/22/21) among them. All three can study rocks on Mars before sending samples back home for analysis – essential tools in our search for evidence of life beyond our planet!
What is the color of Mars’s sunsets?
NASA’s Mars rovers often post images of sunsets and sunrises from Mars, offering us a window into another world. However, some have been left baffled by its peculiarly blue sunset hues due to the lower atmosphere on Mars than here on Earth.
On Earth, blue sky near the Sun is created by Rayleigh scattering, where particles in the air scatter light according to their size. On Mars however, due to larger dust particles preserving more short blue wavelengths than its Earthly counterparts and giving its skies their distinctive blue hue during sunset and sunrise. Furthermore, this otherworldly tint occurs only when sunlight passes through thickest parts of its atmosphere – something NASA’s Curiosity rover captured as evidence by using Mastcam camera images that show Gale Crater sundowner photos taken with Mastcam camera imagery captured using NASA Curiosity rover’s Mastcam camera captured this otherworldly image that shows setting sundown in Gale Crater.
What is Mars’s atmosphere like?
Mars’ atmosphere consists mainly of carbon dioxide with trace amounts of nitrogen, argon and oxygen – unlike Earth, however. Human beings would find it impossible to breathe there.
Air pressure fluctuates significantly across the surface, from extremely low in mountainous regions and extinct volcanoes to higher pressure near canyons and deep impact craters; seasonal variations also impact its course.
Mars’ ice caps – made up of water and carbon dioxide – shrink and expand with each season change, altering both its lower and middle layers of atmosphere as one interconnected system. On average, winds tend to blow easterly during summer in tropical and middle latitude areas while westerly during winter; occasionally there may be global or local dust storms which produce clouds of tiny particles which obscure sunlight reaching surface levels.
What is Mars’s surface like?
Mars may possess some water (in the form of frozen lakes and glaciers), but its atmosphere is too thin to support liquid water. At one time however, Mars was home to thicker atmosphere which provided warmer and wetter conditions than is currently experienced on its surface.
Studies by orbiters and Mars landers have demonstrated that Mars is much more dynamic than once imagined, with seasonal changes, temperature variations, and days nearly equalling those on Earth. Its surface is littered with ancient craters as well as channels created by flowing water that could indicate past climates on Mars.
Mars’ elliptical orbit means that, depending on its distance from the Sun, one hemisphere of its planet experiences long summer seasons while the other experiences short winter ones; making its northern and southern regions quite distinct.
How did Mars get its red color?
Mars earned its nickname of The Red Planet due to the presence of abundant iron oxide (rust) on its surface, giving it its distinctive red hue that can be seen from space.
From a distance, Mars appears red; however, closer inspection reveals brown, tan, and orange colors due to iron deposits in its rocks and soil oxidizing with oxygen in response to environmental pressures.
Mars’ atmosphere is filled with iron oxide oxidized by atmospheric winds, giving it its eye-catching red hue. But this only represents surface level corrosion – beneath this outer red layer lies much more like Earth. Scientists speculate that once upon a time there may have been much greater chances for life on Mars.
What is Mars’s size?
Comparative to Earth, Mars is much smaller. Its equatorial radius is only half that of our planet while its polar radius is even less extensive.
Though relatively small in comparison, Mars shares many characteristics with Earth. It has an average daily duration and similar seasons. Furthermore, Mars features two small moons named Phobos and Deimos that share many similar characteristics; Phobos is covered with bumps while Deimos has smooth surfaces.
Mars is one of the smallest planets in our Solar System. While larger than Mercury, it simply can’t compare to Saturn or Jupiter; both gas giants with radii of over 36,184 miles that give them much greater gravity than Mars does and thus cause objects to be pulled more forcefully, leading them to possess stronger magnetic fields.
What is Mars’s distance from the Sun?
On average, Mars lies about 228 million kilometres (141 million miles) away from Earth – this distance is known as its “astronomical distance”, or AU for short.
But Mars has an elliptical orbit, meaning its distance from the Sun fluctuates depending on its closeness or distance from it. When Mars comes closest, this point in its path is known as its perihelion while when farthest away it becomes its aphelion.
Mars’ atmosphere, composed primarily of carbon dioxide, is thin and easily stripped by solar wind – leading it to take 687 days for it to complete one revolution around the Sun compared to Earth’s 437 days. Furthermore, Mars rotates on its axis more slowly than Earth causing seasons and climate patterns that vary more greatly while providing less predictable conditions overall.
What is Mars’s climate like?
Due to its thin atmosphere and greater distance from the Sun, Mars experiences a cold climate. It features permanent polar ice caps on either pole, with water ice dominating at the northern pole while dry carbon dioxide snow dominates on its southern pole.
Mars weather is heavily influenced by a Hadley cell circulation pattern. This system sees rising, heated air move from the equator toward higher latitudes before cooling and sinking back to Earth via gravity currents.
This creates a series of high and low pressure areas, similar to ocean trade winds, similar to what is experienced on Mars. These pressure changes cause cyclonic storms which raise dust into the atmosphere, sometimes producing rainfall; however, actual liquid precipitation on Mars is very rare due to solar radiation quickly disassociating any atmospheric water into hydrogen and oxygen; a process called sublimation.