red planet

Mars is a planet of the Solar System. It is in fourth position in distance from and in seventh place in size among other planets. The mass of Mars is about ten times less than the mass of the Earth. The planet got its name in honor of the god of war from ancient Roman mythology. The surface of the planet has a reddish tint. It is due to the presence of large amounts of iron salts on Mars. Therefore, Mars is sometimes called the “Red Planet”.

The atmosphere of Mars is extremely thin. Therefore, at the surface it is approximately 160 times weaker than on Earth. Mars is a planet terrestrial group. Its peculiarity is the presence of many impact craters on the surface. They are very similar to lunar ones. Mars also has deserts, polar caps, volcanoes and valleys.

Moons of Mars

Two small satellites revolve around Mars - and (translated from ancient Greek as “fear” and “horror”. That was the name of the two sons of Ares, who fought with him). Their sizes are relatively small. Phobos - 26.8 × 22.4 × 18.4 km, Deimos - 15 × 12.2 × 10.4 km. Both objects have an irregular shape.

Mars exploration

Scientists began studying Mars in the 1960s. Automatic interplanetary stations (AIS) were launched to Mars different states and agencies. These include the USSR, USA, European Space Agency, India. Therefore, today Mars is the most explored planet.

The planet's topography is very unique. Mars is home to one of the most famous mountains in the solar system, Olympus Mons. It is a huge extinct volcano. Also noteworthy is Valles Marineris, the largest discovered canyon on the planets. It is second in size only to the canyon on Charon, a moon of Pluto. In June 2008, the journal Nature published interesting articles. They clearly proved the existence of an interesting object on Mars, in its northern hemisphere. This is the largest impact crater in the Solar System. It is 10,000 km long and 8,500 km wide.

NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers have reported evidence that there is water on Mars. Minerals were discovered that could only have arisen from prolonged exposure to water. Phoenix device when studying Martian soildiscovered the presence of ice there.

Is there life on Mars?

This question excites the best minds humanity for many decades. Unfortunately, to date, no living organisms have been discovered on Mars. There are only indirect signs of possible life activity. For example, seasonal changes in the level of methane in the planet’s atmosphere. It should be noted, however, that the conditions that exist on Mars may well survive many of the extremophiles found on Earth. These organisms live on Earth in the most unpredictable places under extremely harsh conditions. It is even possible that previous missions to Mars could have brought these representatives of earthly life to the Red Planet. Where they have adapted perfectly and feel wonderful. Maybe they are the ones that produce the discovered methane on Mars...

The biggest mystery for humanity remains everything that is outside our planet. How much unknown and undiscovered dark space conceals within itself. I am glad that today we know information, albeit not all, about nearby planets. Let's talk about Mars today.

Mars is the fourth planet farthest from the Sun and closest to Earth. This planet is approximately 4.6 billion years old, like Earth, Venus and the rest of the planets in the solar system.

The name of the planet comes from the name of the ancient Roman and Greek god of war - ARES. The Romans and Greeks associated the planet with war due to its resemblance to blood. When viewed from Earth, Mars is red-orange in color. The color of the planet is due to the abundance of iron minerals in the soil.

In the recent past, scientists have discovered channels, valleys and ditches on the surface of Mars, and deposits of thick layers of ice have also been found at the north and south poles, which proves that water once existed on Mars. If this is true, then water may still be found in cracks and wells in the planet's underground rocks. In addition, a group of researchers claim that living beings once lived on Mars. As evidence, they cite certain types of materials found in a meteorite that fell to Earth. True, the claims of this group did not convince most scientists.

The surface of Mars is very diverse. Some of the impressive features include a canyon system that is much deeper and longer than the Grand Canyon in the USA, and a mountain system highest point which is much higher than Mount Everest. The density of the atmosphere of Mars is 100 times less than that of the Earth. However, this does not prevent the formation of such phenomena as clouds and wind. Huge dust storms sometimes rage all over the planet.

It's much colder on Mars than on Earth. Surface temperatures range from a low of -125° Celsius recorded near the poles during winter to a high of +20° Celsius recorded at midday near the equator. The average temperature is approximately -60° Celsius.

This planet is not like Earth to many people, mainly because it is much further from the Sun and much smaller than Earth. The average distance from Mars to the Sun is about 227,920,000 km, which is 1.5 times greater than the distance from Earth to the Sun. The average radius of Mars is 3390 km, which is about half the radius of the Earth.

Physical characteristics of Mars

Orbit and rotation of the planet

Like the rest of the planets in the solar system, Mars revolves around the Sun in an elliptical orbit. But its orbit is more elongated than the orbit of the Earth and other planets. The greatest distance from the Sun to Mars is 249,230,000 km, the smallest is 206,620,000 km. The length of the year is 687 Earth days. The length of a day is 24 hours 39 minutes and 35 seconds.

The distance between Earth and Mars depends on the position of these planets in their orbits. It can vary from 54,500,000 km to 401,300,000 km. Mars is closest to Earth during opposition, when the planet is in the opposite direction to the Sun. Oppositions are repeated every 26 months at different points in the orbit of Mars and Earth.

Like Earth, Mars' axis is inclined relative to the orbital plane by 25.19° compared to Earth's 23.45°. This is reflected in the amount of sunlight falling on some parts of the planet, which in turn affects the occurrence of seasons similar to those on Earth.

Mass and density

The mass of Mars is 6.42*1020 tons, which is 10 times less than the mass of the Earth. Density is about 3.933 grams per cubic centimeter, which is approximately 70% of the density of Earth.

Gravitational forces

Due to the planet's smaller size and density, the gravity on Mars is 38% that of Earth. Therefore, if a person stands on Mars, he will feel as if his weight has been reduced by 62%. Or, if he drops a stone, then this stone will fall much more slowly than the same stone on Earth.

Internal structure of Mars

All information received about internal structure planet is based on: calculations related to the mass, rotation, density of the planet; on knowledge of the properties of other planets; on the analysis of Martian meteorites that fell to Earth, as well as on data collected from research vehicles in orbit of the planet. All this makes it possible to assume that Mars, like the Earth, may consist of three main layers:

  1. Martian crust;
  2. mantle;
  3. core.

Bark. Scientists suggest that the thickness of the Martian crust is approximately 50 km. The thinnest part of the crust is in the northern hemisphere. The rest of the majority of the crust consists of volcanic rocks.

Mantle. The mantle is similar in composition to the Earth's mantle. As on Earth, the planet's main source of heat is radioactive decay - the decay of the nuclei of atoms of elements such as uranium, potassium and thorium. Due to radioactive radiation, the average temperature of the Martian mantle can be approximately 1500 degrees Celsius.

Core. The main components of the Martian core are probably iron, nickel and sulfur. Information about the planet's density gives some idea of ​​the size of the core, which is expected to be smaller than the Earth's core. It is possible that the radius of Mars' core is approximately 1500-2000 km.

Unlike the Earth's core, which is partially molten, the core of Mars must be solid, since this planet does not have enough magnetic field. However, data obtained from space station, show that some of the oldest Martian rocks were formed as a result of the influence of a large magnetic field - suggesting that Mars had a molten core in the distant past.

Description of the surface of Mars

The surface of Mars is very diverse. Besides the mountains, plains, polar ice, almost the entire surface is densely dotted with craters. In addition, the entire planet is shrouded in fine-grained reddish dust.

Plains

Most of the surface consists of flat, low-lying plains, which are mainly located in the northern hemisphere of the planet. One of these plains is the lowest and relatively smooth among all the plains in the solar system. This smoothness was likely achieved by sediment deposits (tiny particles that settle at the bottom of liquid) formed as a result of water in the area—one piece of evidence that Mars once had water.

Canyons

Along the planet's equator lies one of the world's most stunning sites, a system of canyons known as Valles Marineris, named after the Marinera 9 space research station that first discovered the valley in 1971. Valles Marineris stretches from east to west and is approximately 4000 km in length, which is equal to the width of the continent of Australia. Scientists believe that these canyons were formed as a result of the splitting and stretching of the planet's crust; the depth in some places reaches 8-10 km.

Valles Marineris on Mars. Photo from astronet.ru

Channels emerge from the eastern part of the valley, and in some places layered deposits have been found. Based on these data, it can be assumed that the canyons were partially filled with water.

Volcanoes on Mars

The largest volcano in the solar system is located on Mars - the Olympus Mons volcano (translation from Latin: Mount Olympus) with a height of 27 km. The diameter of the mountain is 600 km. Three other large volcanoes - Mounts Arsia, Askreus and Povonis - are located on a huge volcanic highland called Tharsis.

All the slopes of the volcanoes on Mars gradually rise, similar to the volcanoes in Hawaii. Hawaiian and Martian volcanoes are wall volcanoes formed from lava eruptions. Currently, not a single active volcano has been found on Mars. Traces of volcanic ash on the slopes of other mountains suggest that Mars was once volcanically active.

Craters and river basins of Mars

A large number of meteorites caused damage to the planet, forming craters on the surface of Mars. The phenomenon of impact craters is rare on Earth for two reasons: 1) those craters that formed at the beginning of the planet’s history are already eroded; 2) The Earth has a very dense atmosphere, which prevents meteorites from falling.

Martian craters are similar to craters on the moon and other solar system objects, which have deep, bowl-shaped floors with raised, wheel-shaped edges. Large craters may have central peaks formed as a result of the shock wave.

Smiling crater. Photo from astrolab.ru

The number of craters on Mars varies from place to place. Almost the entire southern hemisphere is strewn with craters of various sizes. The largest crater on Mars is the Hellas Basin (lat. Hellas Planitia) in the southern hemisphere, whose diameter is approximately 2300 km. The depth of the depression is about 9 km.

Canals and river valleys have been discovered on the surface of Mars, many of which were spread across the low-lying plains. Scientists suggest that the Martian climate was warm enough if water existed in liquid form.

Polar deposits

Most interesting feature Mars are thick accumulations of finely layered sediments located at both poles of Mars. Scientists believe that the layers consist of a mixture of water ice and dust. The atmosphere of Mars likely retained these layers for a long period. They can provide evidence of seasonal weather patterns and long-term climate change. The ice caps on both hemispheres of Mars remain frozen throughout the year.

Climate and atmosphere of Mars

Atmosphere

The atmosphere of Mars is thin, the oxygen content in the atmosphere is only 0.13%, while in the Earth's atmosphere it is 21%. Carbon dioxide content - 95.3%. Other gases contained in the atmosphere include nitrogen - 2.7%; argon - 1.6%; carbon monoxide - 0.07% and water - 0.03%.

Atmospheric pressure

The atmospheric pressure on the planet's surface is only 0.7 kPascal, which is 0.7% of the atmospheric pressure on the Earth's surface. As the seasons change, atmospheric pressure fluctuates.

Temperature of Mars

At high altitudes in the region of 65-125 km from the surface of the planet, the atmospheric temperature is -130 degrees Celsius. Closer to the surface, the average daily temperature of Mars ranges from -30 to -40 degrees. Just below the surface, the temperature of the atmosphere can vary greatly throughout the day. Even near the equator, it can reach -100 degrees late at night.

The temperature of the atmosphere can rise when dust storms rage on the planet. Dust absorbs sunlight and then transfers most of the heat to gases in the atmosphere.

Clouds

Clouds on Mars form only at high altitudes, in the form of frozen carbon dioxide particles. Frost and fog appear especially often early in the morning. Fog, frost and clouds on Mars are very similar to each other.

Dust cloud. Photo from astrolab.ru

Wind

On Mars, as on Earth, there is a general circulation of the atmosphere, expressed in the form of wind, which is characteristic of the entire planet. The main cause of winds is solar energy and the unevenness of its distribution on the surface of the planet. The average speed of surface winds is approximately 3 m/s. Scientists recorded wind gusts of up to 25 m/s. However, gusts of wind on Mars are much less powerful than the same gusts on Earth - this is due to the low density of the planet's atmosphere.

Dust storms

Dust storms are the most spectacular weather phenomenon on Mars. This is a swirling wind that can lift dust from the surface in a short time. The wind looks like a tornado.

The formation of large dust storms on Mars occurs as follows: when strong winds begin to lift dust into the atmosphere, this dust absorbs sunlight and thereby warms the air around it. As soon as warm air rises, an even stronger wind arises, which raises even more dust. As a result, the storm becomes even stronger.

At large scales, dust storms can cover a surface area of ​​more than 320 km. During the largest storms, the entire surface of Mars can be covered in dust. Storms of this size can last for months, obscuring the entire planet from view. Such storms were recorded in 1987 and 2001. Dust storms occur more often when Mars is closest to the Sun, since at such moments solar energy heats the planet's atmosphere more.

Moons of Mars

Mars is accompanied by two small satellites - Phobos and Deimos (sons of the god Ares), which were named and discovered in 1877 by the American astronomer Asaph Hall. Both satellites have an irregular shape. The largest diameter of Phobos is approximately 27 km, Deimos - 15 km.

Satellites have large number craters, most of which were formed as a result of meteorite impacts. In addition, Phobos has many grooves - cracks that could have formed when the satellite collided with a large asteroid.

Scientists still do not know how and where these satellites were formed. They are believed to have been formed during the formation of the planet Mars. According to another version, satellites used to be asteroids flying near Mars, and gravitational force the planet pulled them into its orbit. Evidence for the latter is that both moons have a dark gray color, which is similar to the color of some types of asteroids.

Astronomical observations from Mars

After the landing of automatic vehicles on the surface of Mars, it became possible to conduct astronomical observations directly from the surface of the planet. Due to the astronomical position of Mars in the solar system, the characteristics of the atmosphere, the orbital period of Mars and its satellites, the night sky of Mars (and astronomical phenomena, observed from the planet), differs from the earthly one and in many ways seems unusual and interesting.

During sunrise and sunset, the Martian sky at the zenith has a reddish-pink color, and in the immediate vicinity of the solar disk - from blue to violet, which is completely opposite to the picture of earthly dawns.

At noon, the sky of Mars is yellow-orange. The reason for such differences from the colors of the earth's sky is the properties of the thin, rarefied, dust-containing atmosphere of Mars. Presumably, the yellow-orange color of the sky is also caused by the presence of 1% magnetite in dust particles that are constantly present in the Martian atmosphere and raised by seasonal dust storms. Twilight begins long before sunrise and lasts long after sunset. Sometimes the color of the Martian sky takes on a purple hue as a result of light scattering on microparticles of water ice in the clouds (the latter is quite rare occurrence). Earth on Mars is observed as a morning or evening star, rising before dawn or visible in the evening sky after sunset. Mercury from Mars is practically inaccessible to observation with the naked eye due to its extreme proximity to the Sun. The brightest planet in the sky of Mars is Venus, Jupiter is in second place (its four largest satellites can be seen with the naked eye), and Earth is in third place.

The Phobos satellite, when observed from the surface of Mars, has an apparent diameter of about 1/3 of the Moon's disk in the Earth's sky. Phobos rises in the west and sets in the east and crosses the sky of Mars twice a day. The movement of Phobos across the sky is easily noticeable during the night, as are the phase changes. With the naked eye you can see the largest relief feature of Phobos - the Stickney crater.

The second satellite Deimos rises in the east and sets in the west, looks like bright star without a noticeable visible disk, slowly crossing the sky over 2.7 Martian days. Both satellites can be observed in the night sky at the same time, in this case Phobos will move towards Deimos. Both Phobos and Deimos are bright enough for objects on the surface of Mars to cast clear shadows at night.

Evolution of Mars

By studying the surface of Mars, scientists have learned how Mars has evolved since its formation. They compared the stages of the planet's evolution with the ages of different regions of the surface. How larger number craters in a region, the older the surface there.

Scientists have conditionally divided the lifespan of the planet into three stages: the Noachian era, the Hesparian and Amazonian era.

Noachian era. The Noachian Era is named after a huge mountainous region in the southern hemisphere of the planet. During this period, a huge number of objects, ranging from small meteorites to large asteroids, collided with Mars, leaving behind many craters of various sizes.
The Noachian period was also characterized by great volcanic activity. In addition, during this period, river valleys may have been formed, which left an imprint on the surface of the planet. The existence of these valleys suggests that during the Noachian era the climate on the planet was warmer than it is now.

Hesperian era. The Hesperia Era is named after the plain located in the low latitudes of the southern hemisphere. During this period, the intensive damage to the planet by meteorites and asteroids gradually subsided. However, volcanic activity still continued. Volcanic eruptions have covered most of the craters.

Amazonian era. The era is named after the plain located in the northern hemisphere of the planet. At this time, meteorite impacts are observed to a lesser extent. Volcanic activity is also typical, with eruptions largest volcanoes took place precisely during this period. Also during this period, new geological materials were formed, including layered ice deposits.

Is there life on Mars?

Scientists believe that Mars has three main components necessary for life:

  1. chemical elements, such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, with the help of which organic elements are formed;
  2. a source of energy that can be used by living organisms;
  3. water in liquid form.

Researchers suggest: if there was once life on Mars, then living organisms can exist today. As evidence, they cite the following arguments: the basic chemical elements necessary for life were likely present on the planet throughout its history. The source of energy could be the sun, as well as the internal energy of the planet itself. Water in liquid form could also exist, since canals, ditches and a huge amount of ice, more than 1 m high, were discovered on the surface of Mars. Consequently, water can still exist in liquid form under the surface of the planet. And this proves the possibility of the existence of life on the planet.

In 1996, scientists led by David S. McCain reported that they had found evidence of microscopic life on Mars. Their evidence was confirmed by a meteorite that fell to Earth from Mars. Evidence from this group of scientists included complex organic molecules, grains of the mineral magnetite that can form within some types of bacteria, and tiny compounds that resemble fossilized microbes. However, the conclusions of scientists are very contradictory. But there is still no general scientific agreement that there has never been life on Mars.

Why can't people go to Mars?

The main reason for the impossibility of flying to Mars is the radiation exposure of astronauts. Outer space filled with protons from solar flares, gamma rays from newly formed black holes, and cosmic rays from exploding stars. All these radiations can cause enormous damage to the human body. Scientists have calculated that the likelihood of cancer in humans after a flight to Mars will increase by 20%. Whereas a healthy person who has not gone into space has a 20% chance of developing cancer. It turns out that having flown to Mars, the probability that a person will die from cancer is 40%.

The greatest threat to astronauts comes from galactic cosmic rays, which can accelerate to the speed of light. One type of such rays is heavy rays from ionized nuclei such as Fe26. These rays are much more energetic than typical protons from solar flares. They can penetrate the surface of a ship, the skin of people, and once penetrated, like small guns, they break the strands of DNA molecules, killing cells and damaging genes.

The astronauts of the Apollo spacecraft, during their flight to the Moon, which lasted only a few days, reported seeing flashes of cosmic rays. After some time, almost most of them developed cataracts. This flight took only a few days, while the flight to Mars would take perhaps a year or more.

In order to find out all the risks of flying to Mars, a new space radiation laboratory was opened in New York in 2003. Scientists are modeling particles that mimic cosmic rays and studying their effects on living cells in the body. Having found out all the risks, it will be possible to find out what material the spaceship needs to be built from. Perhaps aluminum, from which most are now built, will suffice spaceships. But there is another material - polyethylene, which can absorb cosmic rays 20% more than aluminum. Who knows, maybe someday ships will be built from plastic...

Experts from NASA told the world why the Red Planet, called Mars, has its own color and this relief.

Mars or just the Red Planet...

Mars, like almost all the planets of the solar system, bears the name of the god of war and is the fourth in line from our luminous star - . Its red disk initially looked terrifying in a telescope, which is why it was nicknamed that. In addition, Mars also has another name "Red Planet". Mars is accompanied by two satellites, whose names correspond, translated as “fear” and “horror”. Mars is an unusual planet that attracts a lot of attention, but is quite aggressive towards invasion from space, compared to Venus, although its conditions are more severe. Two names are attributed to Mars - “cradle ancient civilization"or simply a "dead" planet.

It is more convenient to study the Red Planet at a certain time. When our planet Earth is located exactly in the middle between the hot Sun and red Mars, this is called opposition, it repeats every twenty-six months. When opposition begins, Mars is visible throughout the night as a bright star, not even inferior in brightness to the cosmic steam room - Venus.

The Red Planet orbits in the form of an ellipse...

As for the orbit, it has a clearly defined ellipse shape, and therefore, the distance to Earth changes significantly during such an event. The planet's rotation axis is at an angle, just like that of the Earth, only with a difference of only one and a half percent. And for this reason, orbiting in , Mars presents us with either its northern hemisphere or its southern one. From this it follows that on Mars, like on our planet, there is a change of seasons, only they last there 2 times longer, and a day on Mars is thirty-seven minutes longer than on Earth.

Photograph of Mars and Earth...

On the Red Planet, gravity is 3 times less than on Earth...

The force of gravity on Red Mars, in comparison with Earth, is three times less, and this is due to the fact that the planet has a relatively small mass. The core supposedly occupies up to half the volume of the entire Red Planet, and it is partially or completely only in a liquid state.

The thickness of the crust of Mars is approximately eighty-five kilometers, which is enriched in iron, which is why the Red Planet has a red color.

Mars has not completely cooled down yet...

Mars continues to cool, and its volcanic activity is not significant. The surface of the Red Planet slightly resembles the surface of the Moon, but this is only an appearance, and in fact, the planet’s topography is quite diverse. During the entire study of Mars, volcanic eruptions and marsquakes were observed on it. Meteorites, asteroids, ice, water and even simple wind contributed to the change in topography at the surface.

Mars has plains and mountains….

In the northern hemisphere of Mars, young flat surfaces are concentrated, and in the southern hemisphere, on the contrary, there are ancient mountains. Such an incomprehensible and uneven arrangement is still not clear, but it is possible that such a relief could have been caused by an Asteroid falling on the planet.

Two-thirds of the Red Planet is covered with craters formed due to falling meteorites, but over time, they have lost their shape under the influence of water and other Martian elements.

In the southern hemisphere, under the influence of volcanoes, mountainous terrain was formed. As the flowing lava spread across the plains and solidified, new streams flowed across it, thereby forming mountainous surfaces. Under the influence of hot rivers of lava, they melted underground ice Mars, thereby forming ravines and cracks. The vast expanses of the northern hemisphere are dominated by deserts with numerous dunes closer to the pole itself.

Multiple volcanic formations indicate that a huge number of volcanoes were active on Mars in the past. Their activity stopped about a billion years ago.

Photos of Mars...

The Egyptians gave Mars its first recorded name, Horus Dashr (Horus the Red). The Babylonians called it Nergal (Death Star). The Greeks and Romans named the planet after their gods of war, Ares and Mars, respectively. The Jews called him "Ma'adim" or "he who blushes." Many ancient peoples believed that the planet's reddish hue came from actual blood spilled on Mars.

The month of March is named after Mars.

The symbol of Mars looks like the shield and spear of the god Mars/Ares. This symbol also represents masculinity.

The ancient Greeks believed that the Earth was the center of the universe and that Mars was one of five wandering stars orbiting our planet.

The Egyptians called Mars the "reverse wanderer" because, according to their observations, it moved in the opposite direction of the constellations every 25.7 months.

Mars' red color comes from iron oxide, also known as rust, which has a consistency similar to talc. Literally speaking, metal rocks on Mars rust.

(mostly composed of carbon dioxide) is so rarefied that water cannot exist on the planet in liquid form - it can only exist as evaporation or ice. For many scientists, liquid water is comparable to the “holy grail” of Mars.

No human could survive the low pressure of Mars. If you were to go to Mars without the proper spacesuit, the oxygen in your blood would literally turn into bubbles, resulting in instant death.

If you were driving at 100 km per hour, it would take you 271 years and 221 days to get from Earth to Mars.

Absent in the atmosphere of Mars ozone layer Thus, the surface of Mars is buried in lethal doses of radiation every time the sun rises.

Mars is home to the largest labyrinth of intersecting canyons in the solar system, called Noctis Labyrinthus (“labyrinth of night”).

Mars is home to some of the largest and most ferocious dust storms in the entire solar system. Wind speeds in these storms often reach 200 km per hour, they can last for weeks and cover the entire planet. Storms typically occur on Mars when the planet is closest.

Only 1/3 of all spacecraft sent to Mars successfully completed their mission, which prompted scientists to think about the existence of a Martian " bermuda triangle" or the "Great Galactic Ghoul" who likes to eat spaceships.

In 1976, the Viking I spacecraft photographed a mesa on Mars that looked like a human face. Many organizations and individuals, interested in extraterrestrial life, argued that the "Face" was created by intelligent creatures. Although the Mars Global Surveyor research station (1997-2006) discovered that the “Face” is most likely just optical illusion, people who believe in The Face asked NATO for revealing data from the new image before it was released to the press.

During the Renaissance, Mars played a central role in one of the most important and brilliant intellectual battles in history. Western civilization: Is the Earth the center of the universe. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) consistently explained that Mars moves across the sky in reverse side, because the Earth overtakes Mars in its orbit around the sun.

Mars formed approximately 4.5 billion years ago and is approximately 4,000 miles in extent (half the diameter of Earth). Since most of the Earth is covered by oceans, the amount of land surface on both planets is approximately the same.

Mars is also much lighter, its mass is approximately 1/10 the mass of our planet. Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and the last “terrestrial” (rocky) planet (all planets in more distant orbits are gaseous).

The terrestrial area closest to modern conditions on Mars these are the Antarctic deserts. However, even the harshest areas of Earth are much more suitable for life than the surface of Mars.

The crust of Mars is much thicker than the earth's and is solid, unlike earth's crust consisting of several moving plates.

The satellite of Mars (fear) rises in the west and sets in the east twice a day. Deimos (panic), on the other hand, takes 2.7 days to rise in the east and set in the west. The satellites of Mars are named after the twin gods - panic and fear - who accompany Ares (Mars) in battles.

Mars has 37.5% of Earth's gravity. This means that a person weighing 45 kg on Earth will weigh only 17 kg on Mars and will be able to jump three times higher.

On the surface of Mars is the Merinaire Valley canyon, which is many times longer and deeper than the Grand Canyon in North America.

There are mountains taller than Everest on Mars, and Mount Olympus is currently the tallest mountain in the solar system known to mankind.

Temperatures at the equator of Mars range from +30 ºC at noon to - 80 ºC at midnight. Near the poles it can drop to -143 ºC.

Mars, like our planet, rotates in a similar way - from west to east around an axis.

The atmosphere of Mars, consisting of carbon dioxide, is very thin. The pressure at the surface is 6.1 mbar, which is 160 times less than on Earth. Due to the large differences in altitude on Mars, the pressure can vary greatly: at the top of Olympus Mons (27 km above average surface level) it is 0.5 mbar, and in the Hellas Basin (4 km below average surface level) it is 8.4 mbar.

Mars is colored red due to the significant occurrence of iron oxides in the soil. The presence of dust in the atmosphere gives the sky of Mars a pinkish tint.

The hemispheres of the planet Mars differ quite greatly in the nature of their surface. In the southern hemisphere, the surface is 1-2 km above average and is densely dotted with craters. In the north, the surface is below average and there are few craters - the main part of the territory is occupied by relatively smooth valleys.

On Mars in ancient times there were quite a lot water resources, but they then disappeared. Evidence of the “water past” of Mars are meanders - dried up beds of ancient rivers, as well as some minerals that could only be formed as a result of the action of water.

The average temperature on Mars is -27° Celsius and can vary from -96° in winter to 22° in summer.

During the Viking expeditions to Mars, scientists were worried about being included in the Martian natural conditions earth microbes.
Seasons on Mars are twice as long as Earth's, as Mars takes 687 days to circle the Sun, twice as long as Earth's 365-day journey.

Without as much counterbalance as Earth's, Mars periodically tilts toward the Sun much more than usual, thereby creating warmer summers.

During the Martian winter, almost 20% of the air freezes.

The first person to observe Mars through a telescope was Galileo Galilei in 1609.

NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) plan to collaborate on future missions to Mars, including test return missions, as well as a human landing on Mars by 2035.

The question of whether there is life on Mars has haunted people for many decades. The mystery became even more relevant after suspicions arose about the presence of river valleys on the planet: if water streams once flowed through them, then the presence of life on the planet located next to Earth cannot be denied.

Mars is located between Earth and Jupiter, is the seventh largest planet in the solar system and the fourth from the Sun. The Red Planet is half the size of our Earth: its radius at the equator is almost 3.4 thousand km (the equatorial radius of Mars is twenty kilometers greater than the polar one).

From Jupiter, which is the fifth planet from the Sun, Mars is located at a distance of 486 to 612 million km. The Earth is much closer: the shortest distance between the planets is 56 million km, the greatest distance is about 400 million km.
It is not surprising that Mars is very clearly visible in the earth's sky. Only Jupiter and Venus are brighter than it, and even then not always: once every fifteen to seventeen years, when the red planet approaches the Earth at a minimum distance, during the crescent, Mars is the brightest object in the sky.

The fourth planet in order has been named solar system in honor of the god of war ancient Rome, therefore, the graphic symbol of Mars is a circle with an arrow pointing to the right and upward (the circle symbolizes vitality, the arrow symbolizes a shield and a spear).

Terrestrial planets

Mars, together with three other planets that are closest to the Sun, namely Mercury, Earth and Venus, is part of the terrestrial planets.

All four planets in this group are characterized by high density. Unlike gas planets (Jupiter, Uranus), they consist of iron, silicon, oxygen, aluminum, magnesium and other heavy elements (for example, iron oxide gives the red tint to the surface of Mars). At the same time, the terrestrial planets are much inferior in mass to gas planets: the largest terrestrial planet, Earth, is fourteen times lighter than the lightest gas planet in our system, Uranus.


Like the other terrestrial planets, Earth, Venus, Mercury, Mars is characterized by the following structure:

  • Inside the planet is a partially liquid iron core with a radius of 1480 to 1800 km, with a slight admixture of sulfur;
  • Silicate mantle;
  • The crust, consisting of various rocks, mainly basalt (the average thickness of the Martian crust is 50 km, the maximum is 125).

It is worth noting that the third and fourth terrestrial planets from the Sun have natural satellites. The Earth has one - the Moon, but Mars has two - Phobos and Deimos, which were named after the sons of the god Mars, but in the Greek interpretation, who always accompanied him in battle.

According to one of the hypotheses, the satellites are asteroids caught in the gravitational field of Mars, therefore the satellites are small in size and have irregular shape. At the same time, Phobos is gradually slowing down its movement, as a result of which in the future it will either disintegrate or fall on Mars, but the second satellite, Deimos, on the contrary, is gradually moving away from the red planet.

One more interesting fact about Phobos is that, unlike Deimos and other satellites of the planets of the solar system, it rises from west side and goes beyond the horizon in the east.

Relief

In earlier times, lithospheric plates moved on Mars, which caused the Martian crust to rise and fall (tectonic plates still move, but not so actively). The relief is notable for the fact that despite the fact that Mars is one of the smallest planets, many of the largest objects in the solar system are located here:


Here is the highest mountain discovered on the planets of the solar system - the inactive Olympus volcano: its height from the base is 21.2 km. If you look at the map, you can see that the mountain is surrounded by a huge number of small hills and ridges.

The red planet is home to the largest system of canyons, known as Valles Marineris: on the map of Mars, their length is about 4.5 thousand km, width - 200 km, depth -11 km.

The largest impact crater is located in the northern hemisphere of the planet: its diameter is about 10.5 thousand km, width - 8.5 thousand km.

Interesting fact: the surface of the southern and northern hemispheres are very different. On the southern side, the planet's topography is slightly elevated and heavily dotted with craters.

The surface of the northern hemisphere, on the contrary, is below average. There are practically no craters on it, and therefore it is smooth plains that were formed by spreading lava and erosion processes. Also in the northern hemisphere are the regions of volcanic highlands, Elysium and Tharsis. The length of Tharsis on the map is about two thousand kilometers, and the average height of the mountain system is about ten kilometers (the Olympus volcano is also located here).

The difference in relief between the hemispheres is not a smooth transition, but represents a wide border along the entire circumference of the planet, which is located not along the equator, but thirty degrees from it, forming a slope in a northern direction (along this border are the most eroded areas). Currently, scientists explain this phenomenon for two reasons:

  1. On early stage the formation of the planet, tectonic plates, being next to each other, converged in one hemisphere and froze;
  2. The boundary appeared after the planet collided with space object the size of Pluto.

Poles of the red planet

If you look closely at the map of the planet of the god Mars, you can see that at both poles there are glaciers with an area of ​​​​several thousand kilometers, consisting of water ice and frozen carbon dioxide, and their thickness ranges from one meter to four kilometers.

An interesting fact is that at the south pole the devices discovered active geysers: in the spring, when the air temperature rises, fountains of carbon dioxide fly above the surface, raising sand and dust

Depending on the season, the polar caps change their shape every year: in the spring, dry ice, bypassing the liquid phase, turns into steam, and the exposed surface begins to darken. In winter, the ice caps increase. At the same time, part of the territory, the area of ​​which on the map is about a thousand kilometers, is constantly covered with ice.

Water

Until the middle of the last century, scientists believed that liquid water could be found on Mars, and this gave reason to say that life exists on the red planet. This theory was based on the fact that light and dark areas were clearly visible on the planet, which were very reminiscent of seas and continents, and long dark lines on the map of the planet resembled river valleys.

But, after the first flight to Mars, it became obvious that water, due to too low atmospheric pressure, could not be found in a liquid state on seventy percent of the planet. It is suggested that it did exist: this fact is evidenced by the found microscopic particles of the mineral hematite and other minerals, which are usually formed only in sedimentary rocks and were clearly susceptible to the influence of water.

Also, many scientists are convinced that dark stripes on mountain heights are traces of the presence of liquid salt water at the present time: water flows appear at the end of summer and disappear at the beginning of winter.

The fact that this is water is evidenced by the fact that the stripes do not go over the obstacles, but seem to flow around them, sometimes diverging and then merging again (they are very clearly visible on the map of the planet). Some features of the relief indicate that the river beds shifted during the gradual rise of the surface and continued to flow in a direction convenient for them.

Another interesting fact indicating the presence of water in the atmosphere is thick clouds, the appearance of which is associated with the fact that the uneven topography of the planet directs air masses upward, where they cool, and the water vapor contained in them condenses into ice crystals.

Clouds appear over the Canyons Marineris at an altitude of about 50 km, when Mars is at its perihelion point. Air currents moving from the east stretch the clouds over several hundred kilometers, while at the same time their width is several tens.

Dark and light areas

Despite the absence of seas and oceans, the names assigned to the light and dark areas remained. If you look at the map, you will notice that the seas are mostly located in the southern hemisphere, they are clearly visible and well studied.


But what the darkened areas on the map of Mars are - this mystery has not yet been solved. Before the advent of spacecraft, it was believed that dark areas were covered by vegetation. Now it has become obvious that in places where there are dark stripes and spots, the surface consists of hills, mountains, craters, with collisions of which air masses blow out dust. Therefore, changes in the size and shape of spots are associated with the movement of dust, which has light or dark light.

Priming

Another evidence that in former times life existed on Mars, according to many scientists, is the planet’s soil, most of which consists of silica (25%), which, due to the iron content in it, gives the soil a reddish tint. The planet's soil contains a lot of calcium, magnesium, sulfur, sodium, and aluminum. The acidity ratio of the soil and some of its other characteristics are so close to those on Earth that plants could easily take root on them, therefore, theoretically, life in such soil could well exist.

The presence of water ice was discovered in the soil (these facts were subsequently confirmed more than once). The mystery was finally solved in 2008, when one of the probes, while at the North Pole, was able to extract water from the soil. Five years later, information was released that the amount of water in the surface layers of the soil of Mars is about 2%.

Climate

The Red Planet rotates around its axis at an angle of 25.29 degrees. Thanks to this, the solar day here is 24 hours 39 minutes. 35 seconds, while a year on the planet of the god Mars lasts 686.9 days due to the elongation of the orbit.
The fourth planet in order in the solar system has seasons. True, summer weather in the northern hemisphere is cold: summer begins when the planet is furthest away from the star. But in the south it is hot and short: at this time, Mars approaches the star as close as possible.

Mars is characterized by cold weather. The average temperature on the planet is −50 °C: in winter the temperature at the pole is −153 °C, while at the equator in summer it is just over +22 °C.


An important role in the temperature distribution on Mars is played by numerous dust storms that begin after the ice melts. At this time, atmospheric pressure rises rapidly, causing large masses gases begin to move to the neighboring hemisphere at a speed of 10 to 100 m/s. At the same time, a huge amount of dust rises from the surface, which completely hides the relief (even the Olympus volcano is not visible).

Atmosphere

The thickness of the planet's atmospheric layer is 110 km, and almost 96% of it consists of carbon dioxide (oxygen is only 0.13%, nitrogen - slightly more: 2.7%) and is very rarefied: the pressure of the red planet's atmosphere is 160 times less than near the Earth, and due to the large difference in altitude it fluctuates greatly.

Interestingly, in winter, about 20-30% of the planet’s entire atmosphere concentrates and freezes to the poles, and when the ice melts, it returns to the atmosphere, bypassing the liquid state.

The surface of Mars is very poorly protected from external invasion by celestial objects and waves. According to one hypothesis, after a collision at an early stage of its existence with a large object, the impact was so strong that the rotation of the core stopped, and the planet lost most of the atmosphere and magnetic field, which acted as a shield, protecting it from invasion celestial bodies And solar wind, which carries with it radiation.


Therefore, when the Sun appears or goes below the horizon, the sky of Mars is reddish-pink, and a transition from blue to violet is noticeable near the solar disk. During the day, the sky is painted yellow-orange, which is given to it by the reddish dust of the planet flying in the rarefied atmosphere.

At night, the brightest object in the firmament of Mars is Venus, followed by Jupiter and its satellites, and in third place is the Earth (since our planet is located closer to the Sun, for Mars it is internal, so it is visible only in the morning or evening).

Is there life on Mars

The question of the existence of life on the red planet became especially popular after the publication of Wales’s novel “War of the Worlds,” in the plot of which our planet was captured by humanoids, and earthlings only miraculously managed to survive. Since then, the secrets of the planet located between Earth and Jupiter have intrigued more than one generation, and more and more people are interested in the description of Mars and its satellites.

If you look at a map of the solar system, it becomes obvious that Mars is at a short distance from us, therefore, if life could arise on Earth, then it could well appear on Mars.

The intrigue is also fueled by scientists who report the presence of water on the terrestrial planet, as well as conditions in the soil suitable for the development of life. In addition, photographs are often published on the Internet and specialized magazines in which stones, shadows and other objects depicted on them are compared with buildings, monuments and even the remains of well-preserved representatives of local flora and fauna, trying to prove the existence of life on this planet and unravel all the mysteries Mars.